Danny Phantom: Catalyst
by LunaLucrea
Summary: A sudden and unexpected encounter with Freakshow leads Team Phantom (and others) on a twisted journey to escape from a corroding Ghost Zone. When something goes wrong with Danny's core, will his secret be revealed? And what's with this mysterious artifact called the Catalyst?
1. Chapter 1

**Authors notes:** Hello everyone! This is my first DP fan-fiction, so hopefully you all like it.

Just a few quick things to mention... This takes place some time after a fairly altered Phantom Planet. I'll do my best to mention the differences along the way in the story, but if you guys want a more thorough description, let me know.

Also, this story will eventually contain some fairly 'heavy' adult concepts. Nothing that should push it past a teen rating, but I like to put the warning just in case.

I'm currently finishing up the last couple chapters on a long Jak and Daxter fan-fiction, but I was eager to post the first chapter of this to test the waters and see what people think. I also plan on doing a slightly simplified fan-comic version of this story and posting it on Tumblr.

Anyways, on with the fic. Enjoy :)

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CHAPTER ONE

Three a.m.

Danny let out an exasperated sigh. He had thought that maybe, just maybe, he'd be able to get a full night sleep for once. Guess not.

The evening had started out calmly enough... Jazz had finished her university finals early and had just gotten home for her break. His family had had a normal, non-ectoplasmic dinner, with normal conversation and plenty of normal laughs. They'd gone to bed at a reasonable hour, and the town was quiet...

That is until Technus decided the new electronics store would make for a perfect haunt (Honestly, it never ceased to amaze the half-ghost teen when a new business would set up shop in Amity Park... you'd think that all the mayhem caused by the near non-stop ghost activity would deter any sane entrepreneur...). It was an easy enough fight—Danny hadn't even bothered to call Sam or Tucker—but it had taken far longer than expected, and the Techno-ghost had even scored a lucky blow to Danny's shoulder with a new weapon. It had fired a pretty powerful electricity-enhanced ecto-blast that had knocked the halfa right out of the sky.

Danny wasn't happy about that... and he made sure that Technus wasn't either.

He lowered his feet to the floor and ran a gloved hand through his messy white hair. His toxic green eyes were still locked in a staring match with his alarm clock, their faint glow casting eerie shadows across his bedroom. With a sigh, a bright white ring of light blinked into existence near his naval, split, then quickly traveled across his body. His human form was left behind, wearing nothing but a pair of soft, cotton pajama pants.

His room was bathed in darkness now that the illumination from his eyes had vanished, but it hardly mattered. Over the years his ghost powers had developed steadily, and he had found that even in his human form his natural senses were well above average. He could easily make out the edges of his furniture, and he slowly shuffled his feet so that he was in front of his mirror. He tested his shoulder and winced, bringing his free hand up to bush against the searing burn that had formed across his skin. He hissed, and pulled his fingers away when he felt the familiar sensation of wet, sticky blood.

"Damn..." He whispered to the mirror, reaching to turn on his desk lamp. He was far too tired to focus, and even with his superior eyesight he decided that he'd like a clearer look, "...I can't believe I got blasted by Technus of all people... er... ghosts... whatever."

The self-proclaimed 'Master of All Things Technological' had definitely hit his mark. A large, grisly burn blistered across Danny's right shoulder and toward his chest. It had been a while since any of the usual suspects had managed to score a direct hit like the one he was sporting now. He once again dragged a few steady fingers across the wound.

It would heal quickly enough—another perk of being half-dead he supposed—but it still needed to be covered for the time being...

There was a gentle knock on his door, and dread set in. His mind raced through his options: He could go invisible, which might cause a panic if one of his parents walked in and found him 'missing', or he could make a mad dash toward his bed and try and act like he'd been asleep the whole time; but he never slept with a light on, and whoever was on the other side of the door had probably noticed...

"Danny? It's just me." A soft whisper drifted through the door.

The half-ghost's shoulders immediately slumped once he realized who was standing in the hallway. He'd been far more paranoid as of late... the past few years had gnawed away at his nerves. The anxiety attack that had threatened to bubble to the surface fizzled out, and he let out a shaky breath he hadn't realized he had been holding, "It's open, Jazz."

His sister gently turned the doorknob and carefully pushed to avoid making any noise that might wake their parents, then poked her head into the room. All those privy to Danny's secret had learned how to traverse the house without making a sound.

"I was up reading, and had to use the bathroom. I saw your light..." Her eyes drifted to his shoulder and she gasped, covering hr mouth with her delicate fingers to muffle the sound, "Oh my God, Danny. Are you...?"

"Fine! I'm fine!" Danny waved his hands and grinned sheepishly, "No worries! It's nothing serious."

Jazz didn't look convinced, and she quickly but quietly shut and locked the door, then practically dashed to her brother's bed. Kneeling, she used one hand to dig around under the metal frame—everyone who knew about his dual identity kept a stocked first aid kit under their bed just in case—then waved her brother over and indicated he should sit on the edge of the mattress.

"Really, Jazz, I'm fine. You don't have to..." Danny began to object, snapping his mouth shut when he noticed the determined glare his sister had set on him. He almost smirked, and shook his head as he trudged his way over and plopped down beside her, "Ok, ok... you win."

Jazz immediately went to work, hands juggling between supplies as she tried to choose which cream would be the best option in this particular situation. She decided on one, then pulled on a set of thin, rubber gloves. She wasn't as practiced as Sam, or even Tucker for that matter, but she'd patched Danny up enough times to know what she was doing, "Who was it?"

"Technus." He sighed, then closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose between two fingers, "He caught m...Mmmgg!" Danny grimaced as she firmly lathered his burn in some type of disinfectant, but the pain quickly faded. He was pretty used to it by now, "...sorry, caught me off guard with a new weapon... attack... thing..." He shuddered, "Some kinda electricity blast." Danny had a thing about electricity... or rather, being electrocuted. It hit a little too close to home for his tastes.

Jazz hummed sympathetically in response as she inspected the newly cleaned injury. In the dim room she could just barely spot the faint reflective speckles of green ectoplasm in his blood. It looked a bit like dull glitter, and could be easily missed if you weren't paying attention or if the light was too bright.

The burn had already begun to heal. Skin had began to form and scab across the bloodied muscle, and the area around burn had started bruising... still, it probably wouldn't be completely gone for another day or so, and would probably leave a faint scar.

She studied her brother's lithe form for a moment, eyes darting from one patch of discolored skin to the next. A small frown tugged at the corner of her lips... Danny had taken an abundance of beatings since his half-life had started, and the worst ones had left their marks. She still didn't know how he had managed to hide the majority of them from his parents and classmates, or how everyone around him could remain so oblivious to the truth.

Danny cracked open an eye and noticed her staring, "Creepy much?"

Jazz snorted and rolled her eyes, giving him a gentle shove, "Shut up!"

"Hey, watch it!" Danny hissed, "Mom and dad might hear!"

The red-head grew somewhat somber, returning to her task of dressing his shoulder, "Have you thought about, you know... telling them?"

"Are we really gonna have this conversation right now?" Danny's voice peaked just above a whisper, and he mentally reminded himself to stay quiet, "I already told you..."

"You're gonna do it soon." Jazz interrupted, " _Hold still, Danny,_ I know you wanted to wait until after you graduate, but..."

"I graduate in two weeks... and well, college isn't gonna happen..." He sighed, then jerked as she pulled a bandage tight under his armpit, "Ouch! Jeeze!"

"Sorry." She mumbled in reply, "You're grades aren't _that_ bad..."

"Jazz..."

"You could salvage them at a community college..."

"Jazz..."

"Then after a year or two transfer..."

"Jazz!" Danny pulled away, finally gaining her attention, "I know, ok? We've been through this like, a million times, and I promise I'll try. But let's face it, for right now..." He inhaled sharply when he noticed the dismayed look that was painted across his sister's face, "Anyway, I'm gonna tell them. Soon. Me, Tuck, and Sam are going on our trip after we graduate, and as soon as I come back..." He rubbed the back of his neck, which was a long time habit he exhibited whenever he began to grow nervous or overwhelmed, "...As soon as I come back... I'll..."

Jazz stood, and studied her brother intently, "It's been a long time since they've really considered Phantom an enemy, you know."

"Yeah..." Danny's eyes pulled away from hers, "I know. It's just... I can't..."

Danny knew she was right. He'd barely managed to hold on to his secret throughout the whole 'Disastroid' ordeal, but had somehow managed to scrape by without outing himself to the world. None-the-less, his parents had actually started to question their own beliefs and theories about ghosts after that... especially when it came to Phantom.

Vlad had vanished too, which made his life way easier—even with the ever constant ghost fighting—and without him around to sabotage Danny's image the people had really started to warm up to their hero. They'd never know the whole story of course... but everyone had seen enough to know that the scrappy young ghost-boy that had shifted between menace and savior more times than they could count had managed something seemingly impossible; he'd convinced the denizens of the Ghost Zone to come to their aid, (though he suspected that the average human never realized that the majority of the more malevolent ghosts were only in it to save themselves) and had been the talk of the world for quite a long time following. There were still a few holdouts—people who couldn't bring themselves to ever trust a 'filthy ghost'... people like the GIW who suspected the whole thing was a scheme—but that surprisingly didn't include his parents. Maybe it was because they were on the science team during the incident... maybe it was something else.

They never paused to chat with Phantom, never openly admitted they were wrong... but they did stop hunting him. They only went after ghosts that openly terrorized the town, and had become way less pushy and eager to prove that every ghost was an evil creature that needed to be experimented on. Both of them still had their moments, but all in all it was way different than it used to be.

It was almost painful to watch at first. His mom especially had a hard time accepting the fact that perhaps her theories and data were simply... wrong. She was devastated, but eventually that fed her need to learn more, and they'd delved even deeper into their research and testing than ever before.

When the threats of being torn apart 'molecule by molecule' stopped, and they began to become excited about a new branch of reasoning, Danny felt like a huge constraining weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Eventually he had come to a decision... it was time to tell them. For better or worse.

After he graduated.

Er... after his vacation.

As long as nothing else got in the way.

"You said it yourself... every time they found out the truth, they accepted it. They accepted you. Just because they don't remember now, doesn't mean that'll change." Jazz murmured softly, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder.

He turned his gaze back to his sister. Concern practically oozed from her eyes, and she was still staring at him like he was about to spontaneously combust. He knew she was analyzing him, forming speculations and possible diagnoses in her mind; thinking about ways to guide him through his supposed internal issues... It was irritating and calming at the same time.

He couldn't help it. As much as he wanted to just come clean, and even though they _had_ accepted him in the past—twice actually—the fear of rejection sat in the pit of his stomach like a rock... What if it was different this time? What if he said something wrong, did something stupid? What if they hated him? What if?

She sighed sadly, completely aware of what he was thinking. As annoying as she could be, knowing she cared did wonders for his nerves. A small, appreciative smile played across his lips, "Thanks Jazz."

After a few seconds she grinned back in return. Without giving him a chance to escape, she roughly shuffled a hand through his jet-black hair, "Any time, little bro."

He feigned annoyance, using his powers to phase through and float away from her touch, "Ugh, little? I'm taller than you now."

"You are," Jazz answered, turning away from him to stroll toward his window. She pulled the curtains even tighter than they had been before in an attempt to block out as much of the glaring light from the neon signage that was clasped to the top of their home, "But you'll always be my little bro, little bro."

Danny rolled his eyes and gave a huff as she broke away from the window, and walked casually over to his lamp. With a sharp click, the room went dark.

"It's way too late, and you've got school tomorrow. Go to sleep, Danny."

"Ok, _mom."_ Danny teased, dropping back down to his bed. He grabbed a questionably clean shirt that was draped over one of the posts, and slid it on to hide his newly acquired bandages. Then he crawled under the covers, and rolled to lay on his uninjured shoulder so he could watch as she carefully navigated toward his door, "Watch out for the bin."

Jazz stopped and carefully looked around in the darkness, finding the small trashcan she was about to trip over, "Thanks."

"Mmmhmm." Danny replied, eyelids growing heavy. His fatigue hit him all at once, and he found himself barely able to stay conscious. He blinked a few times when she unlocked his door and cracked it open, "Hey, Jazz...?"

She paused, turning her head to look back toward his bed. She fought back a frown as the soft nightlight from the hallway outlined his blanketed form. His breathing was unnaturally slow, and when he was too worn out to realize what was happening, his ice-core would react and the temperature of the air around him would lower ever so slightly. It was something anyone who didn't know any better would brush off as their imaginations playing tricks on them, but Team Phantom knew what it really was.

She could feel that slight chill coming from his direction right now.

Everything about the way he looked screamed mental exhaustion; and it wasn't from one late night either. Years of less than adequate sleep and an overabundance of stress had taken its toll... but she knew it was useless to point it out. He'd never give in... even if it wasn't due to a ghostly obsession, (Though Danny and his friends had their various theories about that...) the boy had a hero complex that just wouldn't budge. She'd tried. Numerous times. All she could do now was be there for him.

She cleared her throat, "Yeah?"

"I'm glad you're home..." Danny mumbled, "Missed ya..."

"Missed you too, little bro. Good night."

"Hmm... G'night..."  
 *******

"Come on man, seriously?" Tucker had his eyes trained on his newest device, a small tablet he'd dubbed 'Elizabeth', "Sam is gonna be pissed." He'd never truly give up on his PDA's, (He still had one on him at all times in case he needed to do some sort of old-school hacking) but even he had to admit the advantages of owning a good tablet and smart-phone nowadays.

Danny shrugged as he turned the combination dial on his locker. With a small click the padlock loosened, and he pulled on the handle.

It was jammed. Of course it was jammed. It was _always_ jammed. Dash had shoved him against the locker at the beginning of the year and it hadn't worked right since. He sighed, "It wasn't a big deal... it was just Technus. I didn't wanna wake you guys up."

He grew frustrated with the locker and yanked it hard, wincing when his shoulder objected to the rough treatment. He always healed better when he slept, and he didn't get a whole lot of sleep the previous night. Ignoring the knowing glance from his best friend, he quietly retrieved his History book and notepads, "You guys still have decent grades... I don't wanna screw _that_ up for you too."

"How many times do we have to tell you that you never screwed _anything_ up for us!" Sam's voice cut through the air like a knife, and Danny stiffened, slowly turning to face his angry girlfriend. Tucker smirked.

"Hey Sam..."

"Don't you ' _hey Sam'_ me Mr. ghost boy," She poked a finger against his chest, her voice was low enough to avoid any eavesdropping, "I saw the news this morning... what they heck!?"

"It was just Technus!" Danny sighed, "I had it covered!"

"I'm sure you did. You had it completely under control!" She countered, eyes drifting to his shoulder, "I'm sure that's why Jazz texted me and told me to keep an eye on you and make sure that, and I might be paraphrasing here but I'll give it a shot, ' _Stupid Danny doesn't do anything stupid that might make his stupid burn worse."_

Danny rolled his eyes and chuckled, "Jazz really needs to expand her vocabulary." Sam continued to glare, "It wasn't that bad! Honestly! Just a little toasty is all! Kinda gnarly... makes me look tough!"

"You're impossible!" Sam growled, throwing her arms up in protest, "Stupid!"

"Maybe," Danny grinned deviously, using his free hand to pull her into a quick, careful hug, "...but you love me."

"Ack." Tucker pretended to dry heave. Their fairly mild public displays of affection never _really_ bothered him; he knew it was only a matter of time before they finally hooked up, and he'd won quite a bit of money on the numerous bets about them. That didn't mean he didn't like to tease, "Anyway... we got like, two minutes to get to class. If you're all done groping each other, I'd like to actually show up on time today."

"Yeah yeah..." Sam shoved playfully away from Danny, and draped one arm around Tucker's shoulders, "You're just jealous."

"Please." Tucker started to walk, Sam still hanging on one side of him and Danny walking just on the other side of her, "I got all the love I need, right Lizzy?" He rubbed his cheek against the tablet's screen, "That's right, baby."

"That's so..." Sam began.

"...wrong." Danny finished.

"Now who's jealous?" Tucker asked, sticking his tongue out childishly.

They all shared a quiet chuckle before splitting ways. Danny and Tucker had first hour History, and Sam had her elective, which happened to be a painting class. They'd meet up at lunch, then wouldn't be together again until World Literature with Mr. Lancer at the end of the day. Sam gave her boyfriend's hand a gentle squeeze before waving goodbye and making her way further down the hall.

"You really ok?" Tucker whispered as they sat at their desks in the back corner of the class.

Danny gave a nearly non-existent nod, "A little sore, but it's fine. It was a new weapon... I was really tired last night and he managed to get lucky, that's all..."

Tucker nodded, fingers typing furiously and eyes focused on the screen in front of him as they spoke. Danny knew it was mostly an act to avoid unwanted attention more than anything... the Techno-geek's real focus was actually on his half-dead friend.

After a few seconds Tucker sighed, "I need a vacation."

Danny leaned back in his chair, rubbing his eyes with both hands, then slowly dragging them down his face, "Tell me about it. Two weeks... then it's fun in the sun with absolutely _no_ interruptions."

"Can't wait."

"Me either."

Danny's eyes were closed and he had placed his hands behind his head. He was still balancing precariously on his chairs back legs, and Tucker took the opportunity to steal a discrete look at his longtime friend. It was obvious that the half-ghost completely and utterly worn out… It's why Sam and Tucker had originally come up with the whole vacation idea in the first place. Jazz would be home to contact them if anything serious came up, and Valerie was plenty competent enough to handle the town while they were gone... even the Fentons would probably be able to get the job done.

Tucker just hoped everything would go according to plan... Danny needed it more than any of them. He'd never admit it, but they knew he really needed some down time to just... reset. Hopefully this trip would give him exactly that.  
 *******

The trio's lunch was quickly interrupted when Dash 'crept' up behind them. He'd grabbed and squeezed Danny's injured shoulder unawares, saying something or other about how he was going to miss 'pounding the crap out of Fenturd' once they graduated. It had taken a considerable amount of self-control on Danny's part to keep a straight face. Any other time it wouldn't have been a big deal: nothing Dash did could actually hurt Danny anymore, and if he had really wanted to he could have easily taught the jock a lesson without ever having to tap into his ghost powers...

He didn't want to. He'd given up that train of thought a long time ago because it just wasn't worth it.

But damn, did his shoulder ache now.

After the unwanted encounter the group shuffled their way outside for the remainder of their free time. Since they were seniors they had a bit more freedom: they didn't have to stay in the cafeteria, though because of the increase in ecto-activity over the past few years fully open lunches had been abolished. They had to stay on school grounds within range of the emergency ghost shields.

The three of them ducked behind their favorite tree, and after a quick look to make sure no one was watching them, Sam pulled carefully to stretch the collar of Danny's shirt so that she could take a look at his burn. Trained fingers expertly found the clasp on the bandages, and pulled them back to reveal the damaged skin underneath.

"Holy crap, you weren't kidding about it being 'toasty'," Tucker whistled, peering down at his friend, "That musta been nasty last night."

Danny twisted his neck to look down at his own shoulder, and shrugged, "I guess. No big deal now though, it'll be gone by tomorrow morning."

"It's still pretty rough..." Sam mumbled, "...but yeah, it's healing really quick. Dash broke open some of the scabs though, so I'm gonna put a little extra gauze in there just in case... don't want any blood to stain your shirt."

Without skipping a beat Tucker dug through her backpack and retrieved her supplies, passing them over. He then placed himself at an angle where he could keep watch and block his friends at the same time.

Several seconds passed and he quietly warned, "Lancer, two o'clock."

Danny and Sam's heads both snapped to attention, the latter quickly finishing her task and pulling her hands free and tucking them behind her back and out of sight. She'd been careful to avoid getting any blood on them, but was weary just in case.

Mr. Lancer wasn't as dense as his students thought he was. He had seen the awkward way Sam had pulled away from the slouching teenager beside her, and had definitely noticed the suspicious pair of eyes that peeked up above the edge of Tucker's expensive tablet. He'd keep that to himself however... neither Sam nor Danny had the personality that suggested inappropriate behavior in public, which led him to believe they were up to something else entirely. What that something else was eluded him… Not that _that_ was anything new. Over the past four years he'd watched with dismay as the inseparable friends grew more and more secretive and secluded from their classmates.

Samantha Manson had never abandoned her 'goth' persona, (Much to her parent's dismay if their parent/teacher conferences were any indication) and now sported a new haircut that was shorter on one side than the other with streaks of deep purple dyed into her ebony hair. The style was against dress code, but it was so close to graduation and she kept herself out of serious trouble, so the staff had all chosen to ignore her transgression. Even Lancer had to admit that it fit her like a glove... she owned the look, and he really couldn't imagine her any other way. The middle aged teacher had realized long ago that it was a front of sorts: a warning for people to keep their distance. She was stubborn, and very protective of her closest friends. She had no qualms about using her appearance to intimidate those around her. If he were to use a cliché, she would be the 'shield.'

Tucker Foley was the 'scout'. He watched for signs of distress, even if it was hidden behind the screen of some new gadget or another. Lancer had no doubt the self-proclaimed 'techno-geek' was far more capable and cunning than his often openly flirtatious and overacted antics led others to believe. He got along with their fellow students better than his two friends did, often intermingling with the various 'nerd' cliques to gather intel or pass along outlandish rumors. The same rumors that would in some way or form distract the student body from noticing whenever something odd was going on within or around his inner circle. He could actually be quite charming if he wanted to be, and had grown and filled out considerably since freshmen year.

Plus there were the numerous hacking and video incidents that had caused quite a bit of grief among the jocks and even some of the staff. Nothing was ever proven, of course, and no one actually knew who the mysterious culprit was... but the English teacher had his suspicions.

Daniel Fenton gave Mr. Lancer the most pause. He didn't really know what 'role' Danny took in the group.

At first he'd shown such promise... he was smart—way smarter than anyone gave him credit for—and was so eager to learn. He'd let it slip once, and only once, that he wanted to be an astronaut, but early in his high school career it seemed like he'd all but given up on his ambition and transformed from attentive student to aloof layabout. He constantly skipped classes, and often fell asleep during lectures or projects. He refused to apply himself, and barely participated in gym class at all. His friends had come up with every excuse in the book to cover for him... and they were pretty much the only two people he openly talked to. He wasn't rude to other students by any means, but was a master at deflection. He kept everyone at a safe distance... yet any time one of the school bullies picked on someone who couldn't defend themselves, he'd stick his neck out for them and interfere, expertly redirecting the ire toward himself with a sarcastic quip that hinted at his cleverness.

Then there was the CAT test. The teenager had every opportunity to cheat and get away with it... but he didn't. He'd come clean, and taken responsibility for his actions. That wasn't how a lazy slacker typically acted.

At first the English teacher had suspected some type of depression... a few years ago they had a counselor who thought much the same, but she'd been discredited and very quickly vanished.

This caused him to dig a bit deeper, and had even made him wonder if there was any kind of abuse going on at home... but there was absolutely NO actual evidence of this, and the warning signs weren't quite right. He'd met the Fentons on plenty of occasions, and odd as they may be, they very clearly loved both their children. They weren't discrete, and he didn't believe they were actually capable of putting up a fake front.

The teacher _did_ believe Danny received quite a bit of hazing from the so called 'A-listers,' but had never really caught them in the act. Every once and a while he thought he spied a well-hidden bruise or cut... Mr. Baxter in particular had insisted on constantly harassing the smaller boy, but was damn near untouchable because of his star athlete status. It disturbed the teacher to think about how much the rest of the faculty was willing to turn a blind eye to if it meant getting another trophy. Hell, even he'd done it at first... and that was one thing he regretted quite deeply.

Though, now that he thought about it... Danny wasn't really that much smaller than the quarterback anymore. He even noticed that if the boy would stop slouching and stand up straight, he might actually have an inch or two on Dash. He wasn't nearly as broad shouldered, and was still on the gangly side, but every once in a while Lancer would come around a corner or spot Danny in the distance and be inwardly shocked by how confident and sturdy he looked.

There was a mask there; a stealthy facade hidden behind baggy clothes and shaggy hair... but what it hid was a complete enigma. Mr. Lancer had hoped to get to the bottom of it before the end of the year, but graduation was quickly approaching and he really was nowhere near an explanation.

"Good afternoon Ms. Manson, Mr. Fenton, Mr. Foley." Lancer didn't quite smile as he studied his students, "No lunch today?"

"Just stepped out for some fresh air." Sam replied dully, shifting in a way to draw attention to herself rather than her companions. It was subtle, but Lancer had been keeping an eye on the three of them for years and had learned to recognize what was really happening. She crossed her arms and cocked her hip slightly, "Plus, have you seen the food they serve? Honestly, would it be too much to ask to get some Vegan friendly options?"

'Excellent deflection' Lancer thought, "Well, lunch is just about over. I'd like to assume you're going to be to class on time?" He slowly shifted his gaze to the teenager that was still sitting with his back against the tree.

Danny shrugged, stood, and brushed the back of his pants off with both hands. He gave an unconvincing smile, "That's the plan, Mr. Lancer."

Sam bent to scoop up her open backpack, quickly shuffling something in and out of sight and zipping it tight, before turning away and heading toward the school with the two boys at on her heels.

"Wait, Mr. Fenton!" Lancer cleared his throat and placed a heavy hand on Danny's shoulder to catch him... only to be surprised at how suddenly the boy jerked free from his grasp, "Great Gatsby Daniel, I didn't mean to startle you!"

His student shifted from startled glare to embarrassed smile in the matter of seconds, using one hand to rub the back of his neck, "Sorry! Didn't get a lot of sleep last night, I guess I'm a little jumpy. Jazz came home and we were hanging out..."

"I see..." Mr. Lancer wasn't really convinced, but he dropped the subject, "I just wanted to remind you to stay for a few minutes after class... your parents and sister are still chaperoning the senior picnic, correct?"

"Oh, uh, yeah, I guess so. Mom mentioned it I think."

"I have that paperwork ready for them, so don't forget to come pick it up."

The warning bell rang, and Danny almost looked relieved for an excuse to rush away, "Right! No problem. Gotta go..."

The teacher raised a brow and gave them one last quizzical look before letting out a sigh and following them into the building at a distance. It wouldn't look good to show up late to his own class after making such a suggestion to Mr. Fenton after all.  
***

It was the last class of the day, and the trio took their usual seats in the back corner of the room. Danny slumped with his forehead against his desk, arms outstretched and hands dangling loosely off the edge, "Ugh... I forgot they were chaperoning."

"It's a picnic, Danny." Sam's head was propped against one hand lazily, the other tapping her her pencil against her desk, "It's tradition. Think of it as a free day out of class."

"Yeah, relax man, I'm sure it'll be fine." Tucker assured, "What could go wrong?"

Sam and Danny both groaned, the former tilting her gaze to glare at her fully human friend, "Really? Really Tucker!?"

"What?" The techno-geek raised a brow, then narrowed his teal eyes, "Oh, come on! No. I am not 'bad luck Tuck!"

"Yes you are." Danny mumbled into his desk, not bothering to lift his head.

"No I'm not!"

"Yes you are."

"Agh. Shut up."

"You shut up."

"No, You shut up!"

"Oh, My, God. Both of you shut up!" Sam turned sideways in her seat so she could give the leg of Danny's chair a solid kick.

He rolled his head to give her a goofy look, and then stuck his tongue out, "No you."

"Real mature, Danny."

"I know you are, but what am I?"

The goth just rolled her eyes, and gave an exaggerated sigh of defeat, "Dork."

"But you love me."

"Yeah. Sometimes. I guess..."

"Ouch!" Danny stifled a laugh, "My pride."

"Oh, gag me." Tucker mumbled, just as the final bell rang. Lancer stood, and began his lesson. Danny did his best to pay attention, but his thoughts were racing between various unrelated topics; Graduation, their vacation, his shoulder, the picnic, his parents chaperoning the picnic, ghosts, the ghost zone (it had been a while since he visited the Far Frozen...) and finally, telling his the big secret.

It was going to be a long two weeks.

* * *

 **Author's notes:** Thanks for reading, please leave a review!


	2. Chapter 2

**Authors notes:** Hello all! Thank you for all the kind reviews! I'm glad chapter one went over well.

Sorry about the wait! My other story has roughly 2 chapters left, and once that's done all of my energy will be focused here.

That doesn't mean there won't be updates of course, just a plea for patience.

Anyway... this chapter is short compared to my typical work, but it sets up for the rest of the story and ends in the perfect spot. Bare with it, and I promise the next chapter will be up fairly quick!

Anyways, enough of my blabbing. Hope you guys enjoy!

CHAPTER TWO

* * *

"Whatcha lookin' for?"

There was a solid thud, followed by a copious amount of swearing. Sam shuffled out from underneath her desk, hand pressed firmly against the crown of her head. She snapped her gaze to the now visible half-ghost that was guiltily rubbing the back of his neck with one gloved hand. He floated a few inches off the carpet of her bedroom, eyes filled with a bit of worry over her current predicament.

"Eh... sorry." If Danny could have blushed in his ghost form, he would have, "I didn't mean to..."

Sam just rolled her eyes, dismissing him with a lazy wave, "You'd think I'd be used to it by now."

"So...?"

"So what?"

Danny gave a nod toward the desk, and extended a palm to help his girlfriend to her feet, "What was so important down there? Not that I wasn't enjoying the view..."

Sam gave a s shrug and accepted his hand, though once she was up she gave him a playful punch against the shoulder, "The promise ring..." She sighed, and placed a hand on her hip as she returned her gaze to the desk, "I was putting it and my crystal on a better chain, and it rolled off the edge. I was about to just move the damn desk... but it's stupidly heavy."

"Oh," Danny grinned, shifting to intangibility.

He vanished, and it was only a few seconds before Sam felt a light weight settle on the top of her head. She reached up to retrieve the previously lost ring from its new resting place, only to smile when she felt a gentle breath of chilled air against her cheek, and a pair of arms wrap around her shoulders from behind. She leaned into his familiar form, "You're gonna have to let me go. I gotta get dressed quick if we're gonna be on time, Danny."

He gave an exaggerated gasp in her ear and tightened his grip, "No way! You're totally pulling off that look. Old stained tank tops and boy's boxer shorts are all the rage right now Sam... It's in all the magazines." There was a hesitant pause and she felt his shoulders droop slightly, his frame folding in against hers, "Let's just skip the stupid picnic."

Sam chuckled, and shook her head. As tempting as that offer was, it wasn't a good idea. With his parents chaperoning and Lancer being even more nosy lately, Danny didn't need the trouble a no-show would bring, "We can't."

"We could watch movies, play some games... do other things..." He murmured quietly. Even though she couldn't actually see him, she could practically _hear_ the cocky smirk that cracked across his face.

She always did appreciate how his voice echoed ever so slightly in his ghost form, and she shivered as he dragged his fingers up her side and nuzzled her neck with a few lovingly gentle kisses. She gave a snort, "Mmm... Danny, as much as I would _love_... ouch! Hey, stop that!" She pulled away from his teasing wandering hands and crossed her arms as she turned to face her invisible boyfriend, "Man, you need to shave. You've got some scratchy stubble coming in lover-boy." Her firm stance lightened and she smiled, "Come on, you know the drill."

He gave a loud, exaggerated sigh, and she felt the air around her shift as he planted a final kiss on her cheek and flew toward the outside wall, "Yeah, yeah... See you in a few minutes."

There were several moments of silence as she got ready, only interrupted once when the doorbell rang and her mother called up to let her know that her ' _ugh... boyfriend_ ' was there to pick her up for school.  
***

"At least it's not too hot." Tucker sighed just loud enough for his friends to hear. He straightened his back and adjusted his entirely too full backpack so that the strap wasn't digging as hard into his shoulder, "With how it's been lately... ugh."

"Yeah, that's true, I guess." Danny mumbled, he'd been scratching at his chin subconsciously ever since Sam mentioned the stubble. He liked to make sure he stayed clean-shaven—not really because of Sam—it was silly really... he was way too self-conscious about it.

But he couldn't help it. He was getting older, taller, filling out... growing facial hair.

It reminded him of someone he really, really didn't want to remember.

Someone he never wanted to become.

"..ny... Hey, Earth to Danny! Watch where you're walking!" Sam gave him a light shove with her elbow, drawing his attention away from his darkened thoughts and back to the waking world.

The class had just about made it to the park, and Danny had _almost_ walked unawares into heavy traffic. Well... that would have been an interesting turn of events. He took a deep breath and shook his head to clear away any unwanted lingering thoughts, then smiled, "Sorry. Wasn't really listening."

"I noticed!" Sam gave a small snort, but her eyes betrayed her concern, "What's on your mind?"

Danny shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets, "Nothing really. Just really don't wanna spend all day with my parents _and_ my class..."

A lie... or at least a half-lie. He probably _didn't_ want to be at the picnic, but that definitely wasn't what had him so entirely distracted. Sam and Tucker shared a discrete, knowing look. Danny might have perfected his little deflection and deception act with everyone else, but he'd never be able to get anything by them. Years of near-death experiences and unbelievable, world saving stunts together had only served to strengthen their bond with one another.

Sam turned an unconvinced glance toward him, but decided to drop it. Now that he was paying attention, he wasn't in any danger of catching a nasty case of 'full-death' via being run over by a speeding motorist.

The light at the corner signaled they could cross, and the class began their trek past the busy intersection and into the park. Lancer and the Fenton parents were leading the way, with a few of the other senior teachers taking up the rear.

Casper high's senior class was fairly small this year — easily less than a hundred students — which meant they could spread out across the park without really bothering each other. Danny, Sam and Tucker hastily marched their way silently past several of their classmates toward a large, shady oak tree they often found themselves resting under after a particularly difficult ghost attack. It was just past an open field, near where the edge of the park met a small patch of thick woodland growth.

They had almost made it when a loud call echoed across the park, "Danny, Danny sweety! Don't forget to put on sun screen!"

Danny winced, already prepared for the unwanted shower of embarrassing attention his mother's overbearing, albeit kind, reminder would direct his way. He rubbed the back of his neck just as several of the A-lister girls began to giggle and mock him under their breath. Dash's voice rang out, "Yeah, widdle Fenturd doesn't wanna get a widdle sun-burn!"

Several more snickers and giggles could be heard from various small clusters of students, but Danny just sighed and shook his head. After a few minutes everyone seemed to realize that they would much rather have fun doing their own thing than making fun of him, and he slumped down against the side of the tree, "Remind me to never do this again."

"It's one day, Danny. Don't you think you're over-reacting?" Sam raised a brow, then proceeded to settle down beside him.

Tucker plopped unceremoniously down across from them, and they each proceeded to remove several things from their bags. A thin, old blanket was spread between them, followed by a small collection of vegan treats for Sam, and a seemingly endless mountain of sandwiches and chips for the boys. They also had a wide array of ghost hunting equipment stashed away, but that could stay hidden unless something crazy happened... which is something they were _always_ prepared for.

Danny removed three bottles of water from his backpack and passed them around, then immediately began to unwrap and devour his first sandwich. It seemed the stronger his ghost-half got, the more food he needed. They'd all started to notice his growing appetite sometime between the Danielle destabilizing thing, and the Disastroid... After a few concerned trips to see Frostbite they'd discovered that his unique biological makeup needed a bit more energy to sustain itself, and the next best thing to absorbing energy in the Ghost Zone was food.

Lots of food. Luckily no one else seemed to notice.

After he practically inhaled his second sandwich, Danny took the time to glance around and see where everyone had settled. Dash and Kwan were busy flirting with Paulina and Star just a little ways from the trio, out in the middle of the field. A few of the nerds had managed to snag a picnic table under a pavilion that was also nearby. Lancer and his parents were excitedly chatting about something under the same pavilion, at a different table... or rather, Jack was excitedly chatting and Lancer was just blankly staring and nodding, while Maddie was quietly nibbling away at her own lunch.

Other handfuls of students huddled here and there across the park, the vast majority further away. The only one who gave Danny any sort of pause was Valerie.

She sat at the fountain, about the same distance away as Dash and the others. She was hunched slightly, dragging one hand across the surface of the water. She looked bored. Or annoyed. Or lonely. Or all three of those things plus some sadness thrown in for good measure.

She was someone who'd been acting way too strangely lately. After meeting and helping Danielle she'd let up considerably on her revenge against Phantom... then after Vlad had revealed himself to her and the whole mess with the Ecto-uranium asteroid she'd pretty much just stopped caring all together. Sure, she still hunted ghosts, still protected people... but her heart wasn't always in it, and whenever Danny showed up on the scene as Phantom, she would hesitate, then fly off.

A sudden thought bubbled to the surface of Danny's mind, and he nodded in her direction, "Do you think she knows?"

Sam and Tucker both turned to look, and hastily shifted their views back once the girl glanced in their direction.

"You mean about, well..." Tucker gestured with one hand toward his long-time best friend, "...you?"

"Yeah."

"Do _you_ think she knows?" Sam countered, violet eyes settling on Danny.

"I don't really know... sometimes. She's been acting all spazzed out for a while now." He replied quietly, "Honestly, after Dani and Vlad..." He paused as he tried to decide something in his head, once again scratching at his chin without really realizing he was doing it, "After them, you'd think she'd at least start to suspect something. Maybe not _me_ necessarily, but she's got to know something about Phantom."

"About you." Tucker stated between chews.

"About Phantom."

"You are Phantom." Sam teased, leaning back on one arm and using her free hand to straighten the hem of her skirt as if she was uninterested. It was an act, of course. She needed to look like they weren't talking about anything fishy if they didn't want uninvited attention. Not that they were being loud or anything... but that didn't stop them from playing the parts of aloof teenagers to make sure people didn't wonder what they were up to.

"You know what I mean." Danny rolled his eyes, "Seriously though! Vlad got revealed to a bunch of people on accident right? Some of those people _should_ be smart enough to start figuring things out, and even if they didn't realize exactly _what_ Vlad is, Val's got a leg up on them. She _does_ know what he is. Which means she knows two ghost-human hybrids already... one of them being introduced as Phantom's _cousin_."

"Two and two equals four." Tucker muttered, leaning back and stretching out across the grass. He squirmed a bit to wiggle his way further under the shade, then adjusted his glasses to get rid of the glare from the sun.

"Exactly."

"Danny, I don't thi..." Sam began, but paused when she noticed his eyes widen nervously, "What's wrong?"

Dread overtook both Sam and Tucker as Danny gasped, a small, frosty blue breath billowing out in front of him, "That."

The three friends were already on their feet, eyes darting back and forth unexpectedly when the Fenton's alarm sounded.  
***

Chaos.

It was the only word that Danny could even think to describe what followed… though he'd later come to admit that the details were a bit fuzzy.

Several Ectopus materialized across the park, giving chase to the small gaggles of students and teachers alike. Some of the teens ignored the danger (after all, Amity Park had dealt with far worse than a few barely-aware blobs of ectoplasm) instead they were scrambling about to either watch or defend themselves.

Someone—Paulina maybe—shouted something about Phantom coming to save them… her voice just loud enough for Danny's sensitive hearing to catch over his parents' yelling (Ghost!) and Lancer's odd way of swearing (Heart of Darkness!).

Tucker's eyes settled on Valerie, who housed a look that suggested she was both anxious and angry. She obviously wanted to act, to disappear and don her armor, but she was out in the open and a few of the A-lister's had dashed over to take cover by the fountain… Star had even taken the time to pull her old friend to safety—not that she actually needed it of course—and had one manicured hand still latched to the Huntress's arm.

Sam had one hand in her pack but hesitated on actually removing any of their weapons. Nothing too dangerous had made an appearance, and if Danny could just sit still and let his parents handle it… but she knew that was difficult for him. Jazz didn't believe Danny had an obsession like other ghosts did, but the trio had come to accept that maybe he did: Heroism. It may not have been as intense as a full ghost's obsession, but it was hard to deny that Danny was compelled by _something_. Something more than just a complex or want.

She glanced back in his direction and noticed just how tense he was. Blue eyes were dotted with small specks of green, evidence that he was on edge but resisting the urge to transform and jump into the fray. He met her gaze and gave a small nod, silently showing that he had been thinking along the same lines as she was: Let the Fenton's handle it, but stay on guard none-the-less. If things got serious, he'd duck out of sight and do his thing.

Sam let out a small sigh of relief but kept her hand firmly planted against the Fenton thermos in her bag. She vaguely heard something about Jack setting up a ghost shield, then caught her breath when a sphere of ecto-energy swirled into existence near the pavilion, followed by a flash of red. A large collection of ectoplasmic bats, snakes and flaming skulls practically erupted from the epicenter, spreading out among the crowds, just as the shield went up.

Locking them all in with the new ghosts.

Ok. Things just got serious.

Tucker ducked as a ghost-bat swooped low, and Danny let out a low hiss, "Lydia."

"Which means Freakshow." Sam added, arming herself with a Fenton wrist-ray. She passed a lipstick blaster over to Tucker… if they were about to get involved, they might as well still attempt some semblance of discretion.

Danny practically paced in place, knuckles white as he gripped them tightly to his side. He quickly took stock of where everyone was... none of the students were looking in their direction, and after a hasty glance to make sure he was still alright, his mom had dashed toward a few spectral nuisances that were terrorizing Dash and Kwan. Jack was still fiddling with the shield...

Lydia had disappeared. That was worrisome, but he couldn't do anything about it until he transformed... then he'd have to be extra careful, have to try and stay invisible so that his parents wouldn't question how _Phantom_ had gotten through the ghost shield. He didn't want to answer any questions on why he was there or if he'd been part of this attack...

Danny took a few tentative steps back, and he shared a look with his two best friends. They barely had to acknowledge him, but he knew they were aware of what he was about to do. Two more steps, and he gave them a nod. Sam and Tucker both gave small smiles, then discretely downed a few of the offending ghosts.

He backed up another couple steps—he was almost to the shrubs now—and suddenly Danny felt something cold grip around his ankles. He let out a startled gasp and glanced down to see two slender, green hands wrap tightly just above his feet.

Well, he'd found Lydia. That was one problem solved.

Now if only he could have avoided what happened next...

Lydia forced him to go intangible, using her own ghostly powers to over-ride his human-form subdued ones.

It all happened in seconds. He'd been caught off guard, and it had happened so fast... otherwise, Danny would have transformed and had no trouble taking out the Circus Gothica ghost, and whatever else she was cooking up. Seconds that seemed to stretch on forever from the half-dead teen's point of view. Slow motion. Sam and Tucker both heard the shuffle—heard him gasp. They turned, preparing their weapons.

Freakshow had appeared from the thick shrubbery behind Danny. They all briefly wondered how he had managed to sneak up on them... how long had he watched them? But they had to accept one simple fact: he was human. Humans didn't set off ghost alarms, and Danny couldn't sense the living. Freakshow could have been there in the bushes, all day long, watching them enjoy their food, and they would have never known.

The anemic ringmaster held something strange in one hand: a small, thin rod that had two prods at the end. Between those two prods, seemingly floating in a delicate electric field, was a brilliantly green, glowing crystal the size of a quarter. He lunged, as if to stab his foe in the back with this strange new weapon.

Danny was still intangible, so the device went right through him. It didn't keep his heart from skipping a beat, however, and there was an eerie unnatural prick as the metal settled in place. He turned his head to glare at the sickly man behind him.

Seconds. It had all happened in seconds.

Lydia suddenly released the intangibility, and Danny—in a daze—let it fall away with her. The prod was still in place.

Danny's chest erupted in a sharp pain, and burned like it was on fire. He felt Freakshow yank the sharp prod free from his flesh, a sickening _squick_ met his ears.

He twisted slightly, eyes settling on the strange rod in the sickly looking man's hand. He expected there to be blood—red and wet and glistening. But there wasn't. The gold metal was as dry as it had been before it had impaled him.

Had... had Freakshow missed?

If so, why did it hurt so much?

Another sharp throb in his chest sobered the half-ghost slightly, and he brought one hand up to grip his shirt tightly. He felt weak all of a sudden, like he'd just used every ounce of energy he had, like he'd used his ghostly-wail several times in a row without a break.

His felt his core pulse with hot, untamed energy... which was terrifying. His core was supposed to feel cold, and in his human form it should have felt dull, and subdued.

Now it just felt raw... angry. He fell to his knees, still clutching at his chest. He tried to transform—witnesses be damned—but it was like he couldn't touch that power. No white rights of light appeared.

He was vaguely aware of Sam at his side, one hand on his arm, the other gripping his shoulder to keep him upright. Tucker was firing at something behind him, but it seemed like as soon as the deed was done, Lydia and Freakshow had vanished. Seconds later the techno-geek was also crouched down next to him. Danny tried to listen to what they were saying, he really did... but his ears were ringing. They were ringing so loud he couldn't even hear his own erratic thoughts.

Then he felt it. A jump in his powers. A sudden build up of ectoplasmic energy from deep inside his chest... and God did it hurt. It reminded him of his fateful portal accident; only this time instead of absorbing the pure, untainted power, it was going to erupt from his core and explode. He fought it.

Time seemed uneven. With each labored inhale it seemed to speed up, and with each exhale it slowed to a crawl. Sam had tears in her eyes, Tucker was trying to comfort him. Lydia's tattoo ghosts were still wreaking havoc, distracting everyone else...

Then for Danny, it all went black.

Sam saw it happen. She saw when all sense of awareness left Danny's anguished face. Her boyfriend snapped his eyes closed and let out a cry. His hair flickered white as he lost control of whatever was happening with his powers, and a neon green energy tore itself free from his body.

The sudden light burned her eyes and she fought through the stinging tears that threatened to force them shut, "Danny!"

There was an odd pull, like a back-draft of wind in a fire, then an uncontrolled shock-wave of power that tore itself free from Danny's slumped form. She was almost pushed pack, but nothing would make her leave his side at this moment.

It erupted in every direction, and Sam cursed, the energy sending a numb, tingling sensation throughout her body. There was another explosion above them, and she snapped her head toward the noise.

Her eyes went wide and she couldn't help but let out a startled gasp. Crackling energy was building all around them, forming a vortex, with Danny at the center. Not that anyone could actually tell of course... they were either blocked from view by the flowing green light, or staring in fear at the sky above them. The sky that seemed to split in two, and through the rift she saw the familiar tell-tale swirls of black and green.

The Ghost-zone.

Danny suddenly fell forward, energy seemingly spent. His head slumped against her collarbone, his chilled breath dancing across her chest with each, heavy pant. She felt him nudge her necklace with his nose, the one that held the ghost-ice crystal and promise ring he'd given her a few years back. She brought one hand up to cradle the side of his head and hold him close. She wanted to give him some sense of comfort... something to latch on to in his current struggle.

He was warm, which was bad—his typical temperature was below normal human standards—and sweat drenched his bangs. His blue eyes were half-lidded, and he let out a breathy whimper that was painfully out of character, "Sa... Sam...mmy?"

The violent vortex of energy around them—Danny's energy she realized—hadn't stopped. It continued to rip through the park, tearing up through and throwing large clumps of earth, and widening the jagged portal until it seemed as though it was going to swallow them all whole. This was nothing like the controlled portal in the Fenton's basement, and definitely nothing like the natural portals that rarely popped up. This was something else. Something forced. Something horrible.

"It was just supposed to be a stupid picnic..." Tucker mumbled desperately beside her.

* * *

 **Authors notes:** Sorry for the cliffhanger guys! But this was the perfect cut off point and sets things up well. Hope you liked it!

Don't forget to review please! Reviews are love, and I also appreciate constructive criticism!


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's notes:** Hello everyone. Just a quick note here to say hello, and thank you to those who reviewed! It means a lot to me!

Sorry about that nasty little cliffhanger... this chapter is quite a bit meatier to make up for it ;) Hopefully the rest of the chapters will be just about this length or so!

Anyways, hope you enjoy!

CHAPTER THREE

* * *

Jazz looked down at her watch and gave a small exasperated sigh. She was originally planning on helping her parents chaperon the entire senior picnic, but one of her professors had called to talk about her thesis on Ecto-Psychological— _no, that didn't matter right now. She was in a hurry!_

"No more distractions…" She mumbled to no one in particular as she grabbed her belongings off the stand near the door, and pulled her hair back.

She had a few letters gripped between her lips as she hastily slid her worn but comfortable sneakers over her feet. All she needed to do was drop those off at the post office on her way to the park, and there would be no further interruptions. Hopefully her parents weren't terrorizing Danny or the teachers too much in her absence… she had thought her presence would keep them at least somewhat occupied. There was a bit of fumbling with her purse—ugh, she was so scatterbrained today—then she practically dove through the door. Thankfully, the park was only about a ten minute walk, so she didn't have to bother with the hassle of driving and traffic.

She only made it two blocks before things went to hell. There was an eerie green hue that began to seep across the sky, and the wind picked up, bringing a stinging chill across the lake and into town... which was weird, because it was smack dab in the middle of summer.

Her stomach tightened. The park… It had to be coming from the park.

She began to pick up her pace, but was stopped dead (no pun intended) in her tracks when the sound of an ear-splitting explosion rang out across the city.  
***

"Sh… shit…" Tucker groaned, pulling one hand up to press against his forehead. It felt like his brain had been turned to mush, and he still hadn't gathered the strength to open his eyes. Everything felt hazy—not just his thoughts, but the actual air around him too—and there was this weird, sulfuric smell…

It felt like the Ghost Zone… but why would he be…?

Then his memory practically smacked him in the face and he shot up with a slight whimper, eyes snapping open. The first thing he noticed was that it was colder than normal, and that he was missing his glasses. There were a couple other humanoid lumps nearby, and he strained his stinging eyes to make them out.

Two messes of black hair… a guy… a girl… Sam and Danny! Tucker shuffled forward on his hands and knees, not trusting himself to stand quite yet. As he neared he could see that the two of them were lying against each other, Sam on her side with her arm wrapped around Danny's shoulder protectively. Danny was on his back, head turned away. Neither looked good, but he knew that his half-ghost friend would murder him in his sleep if he didn't make sure Sam was ok first.

Unsteady hands rested against her shoulder and shook gently, scared to move her thin, but sturdy frame too much in case she was hurt, "Sam…?"

At first there was nothing, and Tucker found himself trembling, holding his breath. He gave her another uneasy shake—slightly harder this time—and grew louder, "S…Sam…?"

The techno-geek let out a long, relieved sigh when she mumbled something he couldn't quite catch, and rolled slightly in his direction. He maneuvered himself so that he was sitting with his legs crossed, one arm wrapping carefully around her shoulder and supporting her back, his other hand gently cupping her cheek, "Sam, I got you."

Her eyes fluttered open, and she winced as something somewhere hurt, "Tucker?"

"Yeah. Hey." He let her sit up, still ready in case she couldn't of course, then shifted so that he was more in front of her than beside her, "You ok?"

Confusion crossed her features, followed by realization. She jerked her head toward their still unconscious friend, and pulled away from Tucker, "Danny!?"

Now that he was sure Sam was relatively fine, Tucker took the time move to Danny's other side. He grimaced when he noticed a small dribble of blood had seeped from the halfa's nose, but it looked as though it wasn't actually still flowing and was drying. There was also a small patch of blood on his side, though upon lifting his shirt Tucker was relieved that it wasn't anything life threatening. Or, err… half-life threatening.

Danny looked pale, and sweat drenched his forehead, causing his shaggy black bangs to stick to his skin. Sam pressed an ear over his chest, breath held as she tried to detect his heartbeat. Tucker took the opportunity to place a hand a few inches from his friend's nose, checking for breath. It was there, and when Sam pulled away she looked relieved as well. So, he was still alive… that was good at least. Whatever Freakshow had done hadn't finished the job.

"Danny…" Sam carefully brushed a few strands of hair from in front of her boyfriend's eyes, then frowned, "Tucker, he's kinda warm."  
***

"W…k… up."

"Come.. o…Da…y"

 _Sam_? _Tucker_? Danny's mind began to stir, his friends voices breaking through the silence. Why did they sound so worried? Were they hurt? What happened?

Then his mind registered something else: Pain. Every inch of his body ached, and his head felt like it was on fire. Despite that, his chest throbbed unbelievably cold. It stung. His core… was it active? Was he in his ghost form? Why did it hurt so _much_?

He groaned, and then winced as he brought one hand up to his chest. Something was definitely broken… "Mother fu-"

"Danny!" Sam's voice was low, but desperate. He felt her thin fingers lace with his, which calmed him somewhat.

Slowly he opened his eyes, a few uncontrollable tears leaking down the sides of his face. He blinked a few times to clear them, then shook his head in an attempt to quell the blurriness that still hid his two friends from view.

"Careful now." Tucker's voice was a little shaky, but not as obviously freaked out as Sam's was. A steady hand gripped Danny's shoulder, "You with us?"

Danny's throat felt like sandpaper, but he smiled weakly and forced a sarcastic answer, "Did… Did anyone get the… ugh… the license-plate of the semi that hit me?"

Two sighs of relief met his ears, and he could practically feel the tension between them melt away. His vision was still cloudy, but Sam's frown and Tucker's smirk were slowly coming into focus. He took a deep breath and cringed at the pulse in his chest, "Ok, yeah, that hurts…"

"What hurts?" Sam questioned worriedly, eyes narrowing as if to warn him against lying.

"Everything." Danny replied bleakly. He sniffed, frowning when he realized he smelled blood in his nostrils, then looked past his friends to the open void beyond, "What the hell are we doing in the Ghost Zone?"

"What do you remember?" Tucker asked, noticing that his friend was still pretty dazed and confused. Danny's eyes weren't dilating correctly, and every breath brought a small twitch of pain. Hopefully his ghost-healing would kick in sooner rather than later.

The half-dead teen sat quietly for a moment, deep in thought. He attempted to move—to sit up like his friends were—but hastily decided against that, "Wasn't the picnic today?"

"Yeah." Tucker nodded.

"We went, right? I remember picking up Sam, and meeting you at the school." Danny's voice wavered and he cocked his head to the side in thought, "We got to the park right?"

"After you almost walked into traffic." Sam reported, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah… Yeah I remember that." Danny smiled sheepishly, and closed his eyes to concentrate further, "We talked about Valerie…" He frowned suddenly, his grip on his girlfriend's hand tightening, "There was a ghost attack… and Freakshow."

His friends stayed silent, and he tried desperately to cling to his line of though. Unfortunately, his memory at this point on was patchy at best, and he only got flashes of what happened… Nothing else made any sort of sense.

Sensing his friend's internal struggle, Tucker elaborated, "He stabbed you, well, kinda stabbed you, with this weird prod thing. You were intangible, then you weren't… then everything went nuts. I don't really know exactly what happened, but your powers went haywire. My best guess is a portal opened up and sucked us in. Sam and I just woke up a few minutes ago…"

"My powers?" Danny's eyes fluttered open and grew startled. Small flashes of green burned through his normal blue irises, "Oh man… oh man, did I hurt anyone?"

"Calm down…" Sam soothed, knowing damn well that Danny was on the verge of panicking, "I'm sure…"

There was a sudden groan a short distance behind them, and the trio's eyes grew wide as they shared a look of confusion.

Without his glasses Tucker couldn't see much beyond their immediate surroundings, and honestly until this moment he hadn't even thought to look around. He squinted, realizing that they were on a floating chunk of land that was a few feet away and above a larger landmass. Sam crawled over to the edge to look down, then let out a startled gasp.

They weren't alone.  
***

Madeline Fenton had always thought of herself as confident and in control. She knew she was smart, and she liked to believe she was brave. She stood strong in the face of adversity; after all, how many years was she told that ghost weren't real? How many times had the scientific community laughed at her and her husband? How many times had her peers cast side-eyed glances in her direction, only to snicker behind her back? How many times had they openly questioned why someone so intelligent would have any interest in a man like _Jack_. She promised to prove them all wrong.

At least, that's how she used to think of herself. The events of the past few years had crashed into those beliefs like a freight train, and shook her to her very foundation. She realized she was _wrong._ About so many things. So many _important_ things. She still found it all too hard to accept.

Regardless, she needed to _appear_ confident and in control. Her peers depended on her. Her friends depended on her. Her family depended on her. Her doubts needed to be reined in, hidden from view. She needed to keep her mask from sliding away—at least until she was alone, or with Jack… who would smile that big goofy grin of his and hug her tight, attempting to whisper (after all, he wasn't a quiet man… at all) sweet, comforting clichés of support. But she knew he meant everything he said.

So when she opened her eyes only to be met with the swirling, every changing black and green mists of the Ghost-Zone, she resisted the urge to jump up and scream. She pushed the instinct of fear deep down, remaining still as she tried to recall what had happened to put her in this precarious position. Her brain attempted to race, but she mentally scolded it and forced herself to think logically.

She could breathe—that was good. She and Jack had never actually traversed any further than just beyond their portal… and even then, it was always in the Specter Speeder. She took a deep breath and accidentally let out a meek groan, her body ached something terrible, but she didn't think there were any serious injuries.

' _Ok_ ' She told herself, ' _How did I get here?'_

Then she remembered the picnic. The ghost attack. It was nothing too out of the ordinary for Amity Park, but then something strange happened. There was a huge rush of power—a shock-wave that knocked her off her feet, or a vortex of some kind—and when she looked up she saw that it originated near the tree-line…

Near where Danny and his friends were sitting… She thought she heard a scream.

And the fear was back.

"Danny!" She jumped up, logic and sensibility all but forgotten. Her eyes focused and settled on several unconscious forms… students. That was concerning, but the need to find her child overwhelmed her senses, "Danny!?"

"Mom?" A weak, shaky voice called out from somewhere behind her, and she was instantly on her feet despite the woozy sensations that suggested she should stay down. The air was thick, and caught in her lungs. That damp acidic smell that burned ever so slightly—no doubt belonging to the natural ectoplasm that saturated the air in this dimension—confused her senses, and her eyes watered slightly.

She searched frantically, "Sweetheart?"

"Up here!" He called back, his voice slightly hollow, but very much alive.

She spun around and glanced up, lavender eyes finally settling on what she was so desperately seeking out.

Danny was hunched over, hands gripping the edge of a floating, purplish rocky landmass. Sam and Tucker were on each side of him, the latter with his hand under one of her son's arms in support. Sam was kneeling on one knee, her own hand gently rubbing Danny's back in a soothing, comforting way. Maddie couldn't help but smile slightly in relief. He was fine.

Or rather, he was fine…ish. He looked on the verge of sickness—a fever perhaps—with his unruly black hair damp and limp in front of his eyes, (he really should get a trim) and his cheeks slightly flushed against somewhat paler than normal skin.

"Danny, honey… Thank goodness. Are you and your friends ok?" Her nerves were settling, and she was returning to her senses. Logic was once again bubbling to the surface—she could see that he was relatively uninjured, and surprisingly not as scared as she would have suspected. That meant she could focus on the others.

After she heard some sort of confirmation from him of course. She was his mother. His well-being would always come first.

He flashed a toothy smile that was meant to appease her, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand, "Fine. A few bumps and scratches, but I'm good."

It was that nervous tick—the neck rub—that cause Maddie to raise a brow and frown. He usually only did that when he didn't want to answer a question truthfully, or was nervous about the reaction his answer would give, "Danny?"

His grin fell slightly, but he pulled his hand down and used Sam's shoulder to support himself as he stood, "Really mom, just a little shaken up. I promise. Can you just make sure everyone else is alright? We'll be down in a sec."

"Al…Alright sweetie. Be careful." Maddie instructed, eyes lingering on her youngest. She didn't want to turn away… but she knew he was right. She really needed to check on the others, and make sure there were no serious injuries. Or, heaven forbid, any casualties.  
***

Jazz was growing frustrated. She shoved her way through the gathering crowds of concerned parents and citizens, forcing them aside as she shuffled away. She was eager to return home.

The police had tapped off the park of course, and had closed the surrounding roads. There were ambulances nearby, treating a few of the wounded that were found at the scene. She _had_ tried to approach one of Danny's classmates, but was shooed away by an officer and told to get lost. From what she could gather, most of the students and teachers were accounted for.

Most… but not all.

Danny and her parents were nowhere to be found. Sam and Tucker were also gone, as well as Mr. Lancer and a small handful of seniors.

What startled her most was that it wasn't just the people who were gone. So was the park…or at least part of it.

It looked like a huge chunk of land had been forcefully ripped from the earth, leaving nothing but a jagged, messy crater behind. The air was still slightly green, like during the calm right before a tornado, and she could smell that weird, sulfur-like musk that sometimes leaked faintly from their portal at home. It wasn't dangerous, but it was evidence that there was some pretty heavy ectoplasmic residue in the air from whatever had happened.

Traffic was a mess. She found herself weaving between cars as she hoofed it down the city streets. She quickened her pace. She needed to get home, needed to get to her stash. She had to find out what had happened to her family, and be ready to help them as needed.

"So… this is a nightmare." Sam murmured quietly. The trio had backed away from the edge of their platform. They'd managed to find both Tucker and Sam's bags… though Danny's was nowhere to be found. It had probably been flung into the empty void of the Zone, aimlessly floating, never to be found again. Hopefully Walker wouldn't find it and add even more ridiculous time to their prison sentences...

With a bit of support from his friends Danny had managed to remain standing. He struggled to ignore the pain that flared with each breath, but knew he wasn't as successful as he hoped when Tucker raised a questioning brow.

"I think I've got a couple broken ribs…" Danny explained calmly, bringing one hand up to cradle his side, "…and I'm gonna have to watch it... I don't want my mom to notice. I just need a few minutes."

"Anything else we should know about?" Sam asked, scanning him for further injuries, "You aren't gonna be able to hide the blood."

"I know." Danny sighed, "You still have those bandages?"

"Of course." She replied, motioning for him to sit. Tucker carefully helped lower his friend, and Sam crouched down and began digging through her pack, "You didn't answer my question."

"Hmm?"

"Is there anything else broken or hurt we should know about?"

Danny thought about telling her that he was fine—right as rain—but knew that would be a mistake the moment he saw the intense stare-down she was giving him, "Like I said earlier… everything hurts. I don't know what the hell happened but I feel... off."

"Off?" Tucker was helping Danny lift his shirt now.

"Something feels weird… I don't know what though. I'm like, drained. My chest feels heavy… and my core…" He frowned, lowering his voice even further, "I feel like I'm running on fumes." He decided to leave out the fact that there was a constant ache right were his heart was, "…but I can tell my body's absorbing energy from the Ghost Zone though. I won't be able to do anything too flashy for a little while, but I think I can handle the basics."

"That's good, right?" Tucker asked, wincing sympathetically as Sam began to apply antiseptic to the gash in Danny's side.

Danny had jumped slightly at the stinging sensation, but was determined to keep a straight face, "Yeah… I just really hope no one questions the whole speed-healing thing. They need to stay as far away from this…" He dragged a finger across his ribs, then motioned to several bruises and the open wound, "…as possible."

"What are we gonna do?" Sam sighed, carefully wrapping the bandages around his midsection, "Danny, we're in the Zone with a whole buncha people who really, really shouldn't be here."

"I know." Danny replied nervously. He let Tucker heave him to his feet when Sam finished her task, then stretched his arms a bit to see how his side was holding up, "Wait here for a sec."

With a quick glance to make sure no one could see him, Danny went invisible before his friends could object. A few moments later he reappeared, panting slightly, "Ok… so I don't have as much energy back yet as I thought."

Sam hissed in annoyance and smacked him lightly across the shoulder, "What the hell!?"

He sighed, "I had to fly up and see if I could tell where we were."

"Any idea?" Tucker asked, rubbing his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. Trying to focus without his glasses was taking it's toll, and even the extra pair he'd kept in his bag had been crushed in the commotion.

"Yeah..." Danny sighed, wincing as he attempted to roll his shoulder, "You know that weird forest...thing... that appeared a couple years ago? The one Skulker likes to call a hunting ground?"

Sam and Tucker both groaned in unison, "Seriously?"

"Its a bit that way," Danny pointed off in the distance, "I could see his lair a little past that..."

"So we're nowhere near the Fenton portal then." Sam suddenly noticed Tucker's annoyance, "You ok Tucker?"

"Glasses got lost. Backup pair got smashed. I'll be..."

Danny suddenly let out a gasp and hunched forward, one hand pressed against his heart. He almost looked as though he'd collapse, and Sam and Tucker both stood at attention and ready to catch him if he fell.

A strange, tingling shock-wave of energy pulsed from somewhere within the depths of the Ghost Zone, washing over them like a cold breeze. It was gone just as quickly as it had appeared, leaving the three of them startled and wide-eyed. Nothing like that had ever happened in their numerous visits over the years.

"What the hell was that?" Sam's voice hitched in her throat, "Danny?"

"Ugghh.." The half-dead teen shuddered, clearly shaken. Wide blue eyes with small flecks of green blinked a few times in confusion. He swallowed hard, then coughed slightly to clear his throat, "I... I don't know. Didn't feel... right."

"What do you mean?" Sam began, only to be interrupted by Maddie's voice from below them.

"Danny? Sam? Tucker?"

"Coming mom!" Danny called back, forcing his posture straight. He took a deep breath and steadied himself, shoving his discomfort back behind his well crafted mask. His bubbling panic attack would have to wait... they needed to move. He lowered his voice, "Closest safe haven is Dora's."

"Danny," Sam's eyes narrowed, "Are you...?"

"I'm fine." He cut her off, "We gotta get my parents and whoever else is here somewhere safe... We're kinda sitting ducks right now."

"Yeah."

Danny turned to look at her, and his gaze only softened when he realized just how concerned she was. He gently cupped her cheek, "I'm scared, ok? I don't know what the hell happened with Freakshow, or how we got here..." He slowly leaned in to kiss her forehead, "And I really don't know how to handle all this. I'm gonna need your guys' help... I can't... _Phantom_ can't be part of this. Not unless we're completely out of options."

"Let's just get everyone moving, and go from there." Tucker suggested, "Hopefully they'll listen without too much of a fight."

The trio made their way to the edge of their platform and glanced down. Danny inhaled sharply as he looked over the small group of people that were slowly coming to and mulling about below them. He hastily took count...

His mom and dad were both there, though his dad looked a little dazed, and was lacking his usual exuberance. Lancer was there, awkwardly attempting to comfort an injured Kwan. Dash stood at his friend's side, and behind him Star was waking Paulina. Valerie was sitting hunched, arms resting on her knees and head hung low. She was obviously less terrified of her surroundings than the others—which made sense of course—but it was clear to the trio that she was trying hard not to let that show. Next to her sat Mikey and Nathan, both of whom were rubbing various bumps and bruises.

Danny whistled to himself, "Too many people..." This was going to be tough.

"Let's just act like we know what we're doing." Sam suggested, her tone a bit bleak.

"We do know what we're doing." Tucker sighed.

"Yeah, well... we're still gonna have to convince them." Danny mumbled, placing one hand on each of his friend's backs, "Hang on."

Sam and Tucker wrapped their own arms around Danny's shoulders, ready to jump. The halfa took the opportunity to discretely slow their fall with is ghost powers, but that didn't completely stop the slight jarring of his ribs upon landing. Sam frowned and gave him 'the look,' which meant she wasn't happy about him using his special abilities at the moment, but held her tongue.

He cringed ever so slightly as he leaned more heavily than he intended against his friends. He was definitely absorbing power from the air around him—he could feel it deep inside—but it was sluggish, and he couldn't remember the last time he'd felt this... empty.

Maddie noticed his presence, and abandoned all other thoughts. She came rushing forward, "Danny?" Her eyes wandered up and down his frame, suddenly focusing on the bloodstain on his shirt, "Oh my God!"

Danny hastily ducked away from her reach as she attempted to touch him, brushing the curious fingers aside, "I'm fine mom. Just a little scratch... Sam already patched it up."

"Sam... what?" Her brow scrunched. Since when did Sam know how to bandage _anything_? That was nonsense. "Danny, let me..."

"Mom." His tone was suddenly stern, and it caught her off guard... it was nothing like what she was used to from her timid little boy. She paused, one hand still outstretched. He cleared his throat, and visibly attempted to calm himself before continuing, "I'm good... ok?"

"I don't think..."

"Listen to me." Danny's hand was at the back of his neck again, and Maddie found herself growing uncertain. This attitude confused her, and she found herself hesitating... He closed his eyes and exhaled through his nose, "I uh... The others need your help more than I do." He motioned toward the handful of students that were spread out across the floating chunk of land, "I think Kwan is about to pass out again. You're the chaperon here, right?."

The look on his mother's face was like a mix of shock and hurt. Shock, because of what he was saying, and how it was being said... Hurt because her baby was taking that tone with her and wouldn't let her help him. Danny almost flinched under that gaze... he wanted to apologize, to make her feel better... but he didn't. He kept his eyes focused and calm. He needed her to back off for a minute while he decided what to do... and how to get all these people moving safely.

She frowned, but slowly turned away without another word.  
***

Everyone thought he was stupid. Jack knew that… and he wasn't as oblivious to the sideways glances and scoffs as people thought he was.

He also knew that they were wrong. He was dense at times, and occasionally overlooked things that were obvious. He often needed to be told something bluntly, as he didn't usually catch on when people beat around the bush or weren't completely honest. He knew that he was far too enthusiastic and pushy at times, and that grated on people like sandpaper.

But he wasn't stupid. He was far from stupid. He just really didn't think he needed to prove it to anyone. After all, he had everything he needed: A loving family. A beautiful, sexy wife. A career he truly enjoyed and pretty much pioneered… what more could he ask for? What would proving himself really do? He didn't _really_ care what people thought about him. They could shove it.

There were only two things that he truly regretted about himself. The first was that he was far too naive at times. Too trusting. He wanted to believe the absolute best about people—even those who disliked or hated him—and more than once had that blinded him to the truth. More than once it had put his family in danger.

The other was that when it came to science or ghosts (and sometimes other things), he had so vehemently insisted he was right that he refused to see reason. He _refused_ to admit when he was wrong. He _refused_ to look at things from another angle, to accept that maybe, just maybe, his research was biased. His theories were just that: theories.

Once again, that had put his family in danger. More than once.

Ever since the Disastroid incident, ever since Vlad had betrayed them and revealed himself to be a ghost…thing… (He still wasn't quite sure _what_ Vlad was...) He'd realized just how ignorant he'd been. Jack had to admit he was wrong. He had to accept that he wasn't as observant as he thought he was; he wasn't as… right.

So, no, Jack wasn't stupid.

He was just an idiot. And those were two very different things.

He was the idiot who'd put his family and friends in danger… the idiot who'd let truly horrible people—not just ghosts, but _people—_ take advantage of his naivety and hurt the ones he loved.

Which is why he absolutely decided he would be better. He would accept that he was wrong. He would take his theories and beliefs, and break them apart. He would piece them back together with the knowledge that he didn't have all the information. He didn't know all the rules… he would _never_ know all the rules.

And that was ok.

He could never change who he was deep down. He'd always be loud, and boisterous. He'd always be overly enthusiastic. He'd always _love_ his work—even when he was wrong—and he'd always love talking about it. He'd probably always be annoying to people who didn't understand him. He'd always get those looks—judgmental and assuming—and he'd still notice them. He would always ignore those looks, and do it with a smile. He'd always be him, at his very _core_.

But none of that meant he couldn't change his beliefs. He was going to make sure he was more observant, and more accepting of things he didn't necessarily understand. He was going to be more adamant.

Jack Fenton was going to be better. It was as simple as that.

It was because of this silent vow that he began to notice things. Little things. About his family… or rather, his kids.

Little things about Danny mostly. Things that were a bit strange, and awkward. Things that Jack kept to himself—he didn't want to worry Maddie after all; she wasn't taking to change as well as she liked to pretend she was—things that made Jack wonder just how well they knew their son. He was very secretive... and so tired all the time. Jack really wished he knew _what_ was causing it, but he feared that Danny would just resist if pushed to hard.

So when Danny had jumped down from that floating rock, Jack noticed how Sam and Tucker both gave his son small, attentive looks. Looks that shifted from concerned, to upset, to passive in the matter of half a second.

Jack noticed when Danny hid a wince behind a smirk as his feet touched solid ground. He noticed the odd, deceptive way Danny insisted he was fine.

Jack noticed the commanding, powerful tone that Danny used to direct his mother away. It was a tone that he'd rarely heard Danny use… if ever. It was confident, and definitive. It gave his wife pause, and she did as Danny asked: went to check on the other students. He felt like he should scold his son for talking to her that way... but felt like it really wasn't the time.

Jack reached one hand to his forehead and rubbed a large, swollen lump that had formed. He pulled back and raised a brow when he noticed that he was bleeding from some hidden cut beneath his dark, peppering hair. A frown drew at the corner of his lips and he silently wondered if he had a concussion.

"Dad?"

Jack jumped, his son's sudden presence startling him from the daze that had taken over his mind. Danny hadn't made a sound, but was now standing just two feet away, slightly hunched, "You ok?"

Jack smiled, "Just dandy, son! Nothing to be worried about!" He kept his eyes on the teenager.

Danny looked tired, which wasn't anything really new… but this was beyond what was normal for the boy. Dark bags had formed under his eyes, and his shaggy hair was mussed. A five-o'clock shadow had formed, giving him a weathered appearance that made him look older than his seventeen years.

Seventeen years. That suddenly hit Jack... Danny wasn't a boy anymore, not really. He was an adult... he'd be graduating high school in just a few short weeks, and going on that trip with his friends. He'd probably move out, probably not into a college like Jazz... though he supposed that Danny would have to be able to get and keep a job first, but he knew his son was capable. He was a Fenton after all.

He remembered walking by his son's room on the odd day that he and his friends were all present... they had been talking and joking about getting an apartment together after high school... Jack hadn't thought much about it at the time, but now...?

Now Jack felt like he hardly even knew who his son was. It was grounding, in a way.

"Danny-boy?" Jack had been sitting on a rock of sorts, and he leaned forward a bit, "How about you? You alright?"

Danny smiled and shrugged, a breath slightly hitched in his throat. One hand _almost_ went to his side, but he stopped himself and replied, "I'm good. You uh… want Sam to take care of that?" The youth motioned loosely with one hand, indicating the cut on his father's head, "She… uh… she knows what she's doing."

"Sam?" Jack's cocked his head slightly and looked at the goth quizzically, "How does she know…?"

Danny hastily explained, "She's taking nursing classes?" At this point the girl in question had approached, and Jack noticed that Tucker was off helping Maddie check up on the rest of the group.

"Hmm…" Sam raised one brow, her lavender eyes settling on the elder Fenton, "Hey Mr. F."

"Hey Sam." Jack had barely spoken the greeting before she was leaning over him, his massive frame making it so that even though he was sitting, his head was still at her shoulder. She had already retrieved some type of ointment, and a sterile wipe from her bag. Why did she have those in there? "So… Danny says you've been taking classes?"

Sam smirked, and Jack nearly missed the amused look she passed toward his son, "Something like that."

Jack had had numerous little accidents and injuries in his lifetime… his interests and occupation pretty much guaranteed the regular occurrence of bumps and bruises. It was no big deal when Sam took the time to clean up his cut and lather it in cream. She pursed her lips a bit to the side, a face obviously made while she concentrated, almost like she was biting the inside of her lip. After a few seconds she smiled, "It's not really bleeding very heavily. I can wrap it with a couple bandages, and that should do fine until we get to Dor…uh somewhere safe."

Danny practically paled, and Sam winced. She'd obviously slipped and said something she hadn't meant to.

Jack raised a brow and gave his son a concerned look. Danny avoided his gaze, but mumbled quietly, "I gotta talk to you and mom in a few…" He didn't get to finish his sentence.

There was a sudden shriek from one of the students who pointed skyward, "Ghost!"

Every set of eyes suddenly shot in the direction indicated, and Jack practically barreled into Sam in his hasty attempt to stand. He had already placed one hand on his belt, gripping his Ecto-gun. The tell-tale sound of an energy weapon activating suggested Maddie had done the same.

The ghost in question wasn't like the majority of ghouls that frequented their town. It was the size of a toddle maybe, but lacked any humanoid form. It was nothing more than a flowing blob of ectoplasm with what appeared to be a crude face, housing two glowing red eyes. Guns were immediately trained, and ready to fire.

Danny abruptly rushed forward, tightly gripping his father's wrist and shouting toward the rest of the group, "Stop! Don't shoot it!"

Several jaws dropped at Danny's outburst, and Maddie looked at him questioningly. She hadn't lowered her weapon, and was struggling to keep one eye on the ecto-entity, "Danny?"

"That one's fine! It's not dangerous! It'll just fly away if you leave it alone!"

As if on cue, the ghost simply shifted its gaze down at them curiously, cocked what appeared to be its head, and then seemed to lose interest. It drifted harmlessly away and vanished.

And every set of eyes instantly settled on Danny.

It was Dash that broke the silence, "How the hell did you know that, Fenturd?"

"Baxter!" Lancer's scolding tone was halfhearted, his attention drawn by the the youngest Fenton.

Several students began to murmur and take excitedly to themselves, sneaking accusing and curious glances at their classmate. Valerie was just staring expressionlessly, eyes peaking up above the arms that were still draped across her knees.

"Danny?" His mother's tone was confused, and she still hadn't quite lowered her gun.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl around the half-ghost teen, and he silently found himself wishing it was because of Clockwork. Dread was settling like a rock in his stomach, and his mind raced. He needed a way to explain things without actually explaining things. He needed to decide—quickly—just how much information he was willing to indulge. Which secrets were safe to share... and which ones weren't. Panic wanted to break free, but he fought it back. He could freak out later... once they weren't out in the open so close to multiple hostile ghost territories.

His dad was still next to him, uncharacteristically quite, dark blue eyes looking for an explanation. There was still a bit of shock there—maybe because Danny had grabbed him so suddenly—but thankfully nothing that suggested he was too terribly upset. If it had been a few years ago, there was no doubt in the teen's mind that his father would be furious that Danny had stopped him from shooting the ghost. Now he just looked startled.

That was something, at least. Danny slowly let go of his father's wrist. Sky blue eyes nervously scanned the faces of his parents and peers, and he was vaguely aware of Sam pulling closer to his side. Tucker was over by the nerds, teal green eyes silently telling his best friend ' _Whatever you decide to do, we've got your back._ '

His heart was pounding, and he took a deep breath, ignoring the pinch of pain that brought to his ribs. Sam was gently touching him now, her arm lightly brushing against his in a show of support. The touch was soothing, and he took a few seconds to breath... _in and out. In and out..._

"Uh... Mom, Dad..." Danny began. He cleared his throat nervously, then straightened his back. He steeled himself as best he could before continuing. He needed to take control of the situation... now.

The subtle change in his demeanor didn't go unnoticed by everyone. Jack found himself uneasy by the complete one-eighty. Danny had managed to go from bumbling nervous to confident in seconds. It made him think... no, not think... it made him _know_ that whatever his son was about to say was important.

Danny took one final deep breath, and straightened his shoulders, "I know you're gonna freak out about this... but try not to." He paused, considering his next choice of words carefully, "You're gonna have to just trust me..."

There were several snickers from his classmates, and his sensitive ears easily picked up on the insults Dash and Paulina were both muttering, but he chose to ignore them. The other teenagers were all just staring at him like he was crazy. None of them had ever seen the Fenton teenager openly speak up like he was now.

His mother was still standing awkwardly, though she finally had the sense to lower her weapon. She looked like she wanted to approach him, but was still a bit upset about their earlier confrontation. His dad's eyes were a bit softer, though obviously puzzled.

Lancer actually caught Danny a bit off guard. His teacher was definitely confused, but the way he was studying him... it was a little unnerving. It was like was eagerly waiting for whatever Danny was about to say next...

Danny let out a sigh, and decided to just dive right in, "Sam, Tucker and I know where we are."

Several eye rolls and a few chuckles from his classmates. A few 'Duh's' were mumbled.

Maddie scrunched her brow, "Danny, sweetie, we all know where we are. We're in the Ghost Zone."

A groan almost escaped his lips, but he held it back. He took another deep breath, and before anyone else could say anything, Danny continued, rubbing the bridge of his nose with two fingers, "No. Mom. I mean, we know _where_ we are in the Ghost Zone. We've uh... We've been here. Multiple times."

Silence. Danny braced himself for the inevitable melt-down...

"What!?" Maddie practically screeched before stomping—quite angrily—toward her son.

And there it was.

"Mom..."

"Danny, what do you _mean_ you've been here!?" She breathed, quickly closing the distance. "Mom..."  
"What the _hell_ were you doing in the Ghost Zone!" Hands lashed out and firmly planted themselves on her son's shoulders.

His eyes went wide at the sudden, unsuspected touch, and he instantly recoiled. The confidence he had built up crumbled in seconds. Pain at the sudden uncontrolled motion flashed across his eyes for a brief second before being overwhelmed by unnecessary fear. He didn't even realize he was backing away so hastily until Sam placed herself between him and his mother, a piercing, angry glare aimed at the latter.

It was Maddie's turn to be shocked. She'd never had her son react in such a way before, and she'd certainly never seen him so scared... at least not of her. That hurt more than Sam's threatening stare-down ever could. A near sob tore from her throat, "I... Danny?"

Danny took a few uneasy breaths before his mind seemed to clear. He shook his head, a bit startled by his own actions. He was trembling slightly... he needed to calm down. What the hell was wrong with him?

He felt a small prick of pain from his chest—no... his _core—_ and frowned. Something was wrong. Something...

' _Ugh.. no no no... later. I've got to get them moving!'_ He yelled at himself internally, fighting back the surge of adrenaline. Everyone was staring. Everyone was staring at him and it made him want to disappear. He had to actively push against that instinct, that ghostly need to go invisible and flee.

' _Why the hell am I freaking out!?'_ He was _way_ to old for this type of melt-down. He took a deep breath and pushed himself to relax.

He forced his cold blue eyes to focus, and he met Sam's concerned amethyst ones. She still had herself placed between him and his parents, shoulders tense, but her neck was turned toward him. She looked curious, but was staying strong. Comforting.

"Sorry... just jumpy." It was a lame excuse, and Danny knew it, but it was the best his muddled brain could come up with.

"Danny-boy?" Jack was next to his wife now, one hand placed gently, but securely on her shoulder. He looked... scared.

Danny shook his head one more time and once again braced himself, shoulders straight and confident, "We... I came to the ghost zone by myself once a few years ago to get something I accidentally knocked into the portal. Ever since then, Sam, Tucker and I have been exploring and mapping everything out, and uh..." He paused, and lowered his gaze. One hand rubbed slowly on the back of his neck, "...meeting ghosts."

Even in the constant green glow of the Zone, Danny could see the color drain from his mother's face. She stiffened, eyes wide, "What...?"

"Mom, listen..."

"Do you know how _dangerous..."_ She began, the pitch of her voice reaching a new high. No one else dared to speak, and ever set of eyes watched the Fentons intently.

"Danny..." Jack's grip on his wife's shoulder tightened, but he didn't move.

"You could have been _killed!_ " Tears and anger welled up in Maddie's eyes, "You've been _meeting_ them? How could you trust...! They're just ectoplasmic sc..."

"NO." Danny's eyes suddenly hardened, his tone slicing through the air like a knife. Every ounce of previous fear was gone, replaced by something similar to betrayal. "You seriously still think that!? I thought you'd..." He let out a frustrated sigh, "Ugh! No. We don't have time for this right now! Just listen to me. Please!"

Maddie looked like she was about to reply, but Jack reacted faster. He squeezed his palm gently, and cut her off, "Ok son. We're listening."

Both Danny and Maddie's eyes widened in shock, neither believing the calm, assertive tone that Jack had taken. Maddie looked like she wanted to protest, but a stern, but loving look from her husband silenced her.

Danny's mouth hung open slightly, and he found himself at a loss for words. He'd never expected _that_ —at least not from his father—and he really didn't know how to reply at first. His mouth moved without words for a few seconds, like a fish out of water.

Sam cleared her throat and that brought the hybrid back to his senses. He swallowed, and for what seemed like the umpteenth time, straightened his shoulders once again, "I know it's hard for you to believe... and don't get me wrong, some ghosts... some ghosts are nasty. They're the ones who you don't wanna cross paths with. They're mean, dangerous, and will not think twice about trying to kill you." He paused, letting his words sink in for a few seconds, "But not all of them are like that. It's actually a pretty small minority, really. They're just like humans, in that sense... some are good and some are bad. Some fall in the middle of the spectrum... You only see the ones that _actively_ try to be seen, that _actively_ attack. Some just want to be left alone, you know... There are a lot of ghosts who don't want to hurt anyone, and I've met a bunch who actually _like_ people."

"Like Phantom!" Paulina suddenly swooned loudly. Danny's eyes snapped up at the unexpected interruption, and the Latina continued, "He's so _dreamy!"_

And unbelievably, Paulina's outburst seemed to subdue a vast amount of the tension. Several of his classmates mumbled energetically about the town hero, expressing excitement and adoration. Danny felt his rigid frame ease slightly, his brow loosen. He couldn't help a small, weary smile. He could see a small, teasing smirk form on both Sam and Tucker's faces as well.

Danny's voice lost it's edge, and he sighed quietly to himself, "Yeah... Like Phantom."

His parents remained quiet, and he tried to read their expressions, hoping that maybe, just maybe, they'd accepted his explanation.

His mom looked hollow, like she didn't quite know how she was feeling. He could tell she was still upset, angry... betrayed. It crushed him like a sack of bricks, and Danny couldn't help feel guilty for making her so upset.

He looked to his father. Jack was quiet, his brow pulled tight and eyes suggesting he was thinking deeply about something. It wasn't a look Danny was used to, and it made him nervous. He couldn't help but hunch slightly...

It was pathetic really. Every day Danny dealt with the supernatural and terrifying, spouting sarcastic quips in the face of death, eagerly putting himself in harms way to make sure no one else got hurt. He could face down a legion of ghosts with his head held high, despite the danger... and laugh about it afterward.

But he couldn't face his parents. Again, he felt like he was too old to let it bother him as much as it did, but no matter how much he tried to convince himself otherwise, he knew their rejection could end him... literally and figuratively.

As if sensing his son's doubtful thoughts, Jack suddenly looked up and met Danny's eyes with his own.

At first Danny felt like shirking away, but his father's stern expression eased, melting into something that almost seemed understanding... loving.

"Danny, We'll have to talk about this more later," Jack stated calmly, "maybe around a nice big pile of fudge."

The half-ghost was flabbergasted. Leave it to his dad to suggest something so... so mundane. Fudge. Really now.

Though he had to admit... he was shocked at how Jack was taking all this. Everything from arriving in the Zone, to Danny's admission. Usually anything involving ghosts had the elder Fenton jumping about excitedly, ready to shoot and ask questions later. Sure, he hadn't used the 'molecule by molecule' line in like, forever... but this? This was mind boggling.

"You said you know where we are?" Jack continued, "Do you know how we can get everyone out of here?"

Danny tensed again. He licked his dry lips, and replied, "Yeah, but..."

"Well come on, Fenton!" Dash hollered, his previous musing about Phantom all but forgotten with the idea of going home suddenly on the forefront of his mind, "Spit it out!"

"We aren't safe here, and it's a _long_ way back to the portal." Danny explained rigidly, "There's no way we'll make it without help." He turned a pleading gaze to his parents, "Mom, Dad... I really, really need you to trust me."

"Danny..." His mother sounded almost defeated, and the small crack in her voice tore at Danny's heartstrings.

Jack looked at his wife and smiled gently, giving her a small shake. She turned to look in his direction for a few moments, and she slowly seemed to brighten a bit at that. He looked at his son confidently, "Of course we trust you, Danny."

The halfa almost smiled, and ran a hand through his thick, shaggy hair. He briefly locked eyes with his two best friends, who both nodded in support. Sam migrated toward him, and wrapped her arm around his, "Ok then... I guess we're taking you all to meet Dora." 

* * *

**Author's notes:** Aaannnd we're off. I know the whole "trapped in the ghost zone" is a bit overused, but I promise it won't be quite what you're used to seeing.

Please do me a favor and review. Constructive criticism is welcome of course! Reviews keep me motivated!

Thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

**Authors notes:** Hello all! Hopefully those of you that celebrated the holidays enjoyed themselves... and hopefully those of you who may not have did as well!

Good news is that my other Fanfiction is pretty much on it's last legs, and should be done within the next couple weeks... then all of my undivided attention will be focused on this! I've also been testing out page layouts on tumblr to see how much I'd like to do this as a fan-comic... so there's that.

Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed! Shout-outs to: **RoseAnna117, AmandaSkittles7, Unlucky Alis, Katpet, Holmes Ghost, AquaPhantom025, Jacobfrit, Danny Phantom Overlord,** and **Turkeyhead987.** You guy's rock. If you had any specific questions I'll shoot you a private message to answer what I can without spoilers.

A few of you found me on Tumblr, and that's pretty awesome. I'll be posting quite a bit of Fan-art and the like there, so keep an eye out. If anyone else is interested in looking me up, the address is in my profile.

Now, on with the show!

CHAPTER FOUR

* * *

"Come on, come on..." Jazz had one finger pressed tightly against the Fenton Phone in her ear, switching frantically between all of Team Phantom's usual private frequencies. Tucker had recently modified them to increase their range, and with a little help from some of the Ghost Zone friendlies, had found a way to make them work across the two dimensions. It wasn't one-hundred percent reliable—it worked like an old fashioned radio system—and sometimes the ambient energy in the Zone would interfere, but it worked more often than not.

There had also been numerous other projects the group had taken on, the most notable ones in the past year or so. Danny had made sure that certain ghost leaders had their own devices tuned into the phones, as well as the overly ambitious (and so far completely unsuccessful) endeavor to repurpose Vlad's portal, giving them direct access to the Far Frozen. Once that was done they'd hoped to construct a more permanent communications set up. ("Something with _video_!" Tucker had said.)

So far there had been nothing but static. She sighed wearily and pushed herself up from her bed, opting to pace the room instead. What in the world had happened at the park? Where the hell had everyone disappeared to? Why was there so much residue ecto-energy in the air right now? The GIW had barged their way in, but were completely useless and only feeding blatantly bogus information to the media… none of which was being bought by the general population. After all, they'd had lost a lot of standing since the Disastroid incident, _especially_ in Amity Park.

She ran a few slender fingers through her hair before yanking the bud from her ear and thumbing the small button that would switch to an open frequency… maybe she'd be able to get ahold of one of their allies instead. She once again nestled it into place and cleared her throat, "Hello? Anyone? We've got an emergency. Does anyone hear me?"

The speaker returned her question with a low hiss, crackling away into silence. She turned on her heel and stomped one foot in annoyance, "Dammit!"

There was a sudden beep, followed by a faded, broken reply, "We…ding…you. Who…s…is? ID…ber?"

"Yes! Hello?" She threw herself excitedly onto her bed, as if her trudging back and forth would somehow interrupt the signal.

The ID number thing was something Tucker had come up with, reasoning that they'd need some type of identifier in case one of their less than savory enemies got ahold of one of the phones. It was an easy enough system, they simply used whatever numbers lined up with the first three letters of their first name, while major locations, such as Pandora's pantheon or the Far Frozen, would use a two number identifier. "ID ten. One. Nineteen. Who is this?"

"O…Moment…" The garbled voice replied. There was an irritating high pitched whine as whoever was on the other end of the line fiddled with their tuning, "Ah, Miss Jazz! It is The Great One's sister!"

' _Far Frozen_.' The elder Fenton sibling smiled warmly. Perfect. She didn't even need the identifier that the yeti on the other end hastily added. (Six-Six.)

"What is the emergency, Miss Jazz?" The snow creature questioned politely.

Jazz gave a small snort. She'd managed to avoid obtaining a silly title, but hadn't quite convinced the Yeti to address her casually yet, "Something crazy is going on in Amity Park, and Danny and the others have disappeared. There's a _ton_ of Ectoplasm in the air right now, so I think it has something to do with the Zone…"

"The Great One is missing?" Jazz could practically hear his deepening frown, "Give me a moment to inform Lord Frostbite. I'm most certain he'll want to hear this…"  
***

"Danny, are you ok?" Sam whispered quietly, leaning forward so her voice wouldn't be caught by any of the others. She'd been watching him like a hawk for a while now, and he'd definitely been acting strangely… even considering the circumstances.

He jumped slightly, not having heard her approach, "When did you get here… wasn't Tucker...?"

"Oh that's a fine how-do-you-do." Sam teased, rolling her eyes, "Tuck and I switched places. He's bringing up the rear with your mom… who is being really, really quiet right now."

Danny stole a quick glance over his shoulder. His dad was several feet behind him, slowly trudging along with an oddly contemplative look on his face. When he noticed Danny's gaze he smiled, though it was clearly uneasy and forced.

Behind the Fenton patriarch was the A-listers. Dash was practically carrying Kwan, who'd evidently broken his ankle. Danny actually felt a little sad for the jock… a broken ankle was more than likely a death sentence for his football scholarship. Kwan had seemed to take it in stride, however, more concerned with their current whereabouts than anything.

Paulina was moaning obnoxiously about her shoes. It'd taken longer than the trio had originally expected—at first she was far too terrified and curious to complain—but she eventually reverted to her usual, high-maintenance self. Star was at her side, trying and failing to shush her.

Then it was Lancer, who shuffled along quietly, a determined but anxious look plastered across his face. Every once and a while he'd pipe up and reprimand one of the students, but considering the mess they were in, it was no big surprise that everyone had pretty much just blown him off.

The nerds were next, and weren't doing anything of interest besides hastily glancing side to side as if they expected a ghost to swoop out of nowhere and scoop them up.

Valerie followed them, and had yet to peel her eyes from the back of Danny's head. If the others hadn't been so startled by Danny's outburst and explanations from earlier, they may have actually noticed and questioned how calm and collected she was. Her back was straight, shoulders squared, and face lacked the fear that would have been present had she not been such a well-practiced ghost hunter.

Tucker and his mom brought up the rear, the former with his eyes practically pressed against his tablet due to losing his glasses, the latter with her gaze firmly set on the rocky, uneven ground as silently followed. She'd pulled her jumpsuit's hood all the way up, and her goggles hid her expression, but Danny had no doubt she was upset and furious.

It didn't take long for them to figure out that the large landmass they had started on were comprised of actual chunks of the park they'd been picnicking in. Tufts of dying grass and uprooted trees floated precariously around them, along with some large, sharp shards of the decorated fountain. After a bit of brooding they'd moved on, walking and hopping across drifting islands as necessary toward their new goal. Hopefully they'd be able to skirt around the most dangerous lairs, and either flag down a friendly, or stay out of sight until they were safe within Dora's territory.

"Danny…?"

The half-dead teen snapped back to attention, shifting his tired stare toward his girlfriend. He faked a sheepish smile and scratched absentmindedly at his chin, "Sorry Sam, what's up?"

"What's going on with you?" She demanded, amethyst irises lighting up with concern.

One of her hands briefly brushed against his and he jerked nervously away. She was almost offended until she realized that he looked just as shocked by his knee-jerk reaction as she was. After a few seconds he gave a deep sigh and replied, "I'm ok."

"No you aren't. You damn near panicked and ran when your mom _touched_ you earlier... let alone me. _"_

Danny frowned, and hesitated momentarily before finally relenting, "I… I don't really know. Something just feels _wrong._ " He chanced another quick look at his family and classmates to make sure none of them were listening, then continued, "I can't really explain it…"

"How's your… _side_?" She danced around the actual question and inflicted her voice to wordlessly ask what she really wanted to know: ' _How's your ghost half doing?'_

He winced slightly as he brought one hand up to investigate his injury, "Getting better… but not quite normal. I really need some sleep... I'm still pretty much running on empty, and would really like a chance to _recharge._ " The words he chose were purposely vague, but she certainly didn't need him to clarify. After all, they'd played this game enough times, and she could easily read between the lines. His enhanced healing was much more efficient if he slept right after getting an injury. The fact that they'd been in the Ghost Zone for a while now and he still hadn't regained much of his energy was alarming though, and it caused her to furrow her brow with concern. She couldn't figure out what in the world Freakshow had done to jack up his powers so thoroughly, let alone create an insanely destructive portal.

He bit his lower lip, and cocked his head to the side, "It's weird…"

"What is?"

"I don't know for sure... I mean, my head's still pretty fuzzy from the uh, _attack_..." He lowered his voice further, "But I think there's something wrong in the Zone. I just doesn't seem right."

She hummed her response, lifting her eyes to the swirling green sky above them. She couldn't sense the permeating ectoplasm like Danny could, and other than that weird pulse from earlier, nothing had seemed out of place. That didn't really mean much of course, as there was still a metric ton worth of information they didn't know about the parallel dimension. Danny had learned a lot over the past few years, especially from his closest ecto-allies, but wasn't an expert by any means.

They were getting pretty close to Skulker's overgrown hunting grounds, and Danny slowed his pace to a crawl before stopping completely. He carefully scanned the endless horizon for any sign of trouble before turning to give Sam a worried look, "We haven't seen many neutral ghosts... I mean, I know we're close to Skulker and Embers... not to mention the prison..." He gave a loud, nasally exhale and rubbed the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger.

"But we still should have seen more." Sam finished for him. He nodded in agreement.

"Everything ok, Danny-boy?" Jack slowly approached, posture and tone suggesting he wasn't sure if he should. The others weren't far behind him, and several of them were staring questionably and muttering complaints among themselves.

The half-ghost slouched and rubbed the back of his neck nervously before turning to face his father, "I'm not sure. I'm a little surprised we haven't seen more ghosts... usually we've run into a few by now."

This caused a few of his classmates to raise their eyebrows, and Dash was the first one to speak up, "How do we know any of this bullshit is true? We're just supposed to believe a little twerp like Fenturd has the balls to..."

"Baxter! This isn't the time or place to-" Lancer stepped forward...

Only to be hastily interrupted by Paulina's accented whine, "Dash is right, I mean, since when has Danny ever really manned up before? He always runs off and disappears when the ghosts attack!"

Danny's face visibly paled and gave a near non-existent scowl that went unnoticed by virtually everyone except a select few, including the portly English teacher who had long since learned how to tune out his more self-absorbed students. Now his attention was undivided, completely focused on the secretive boy leading their rag-tag collection of unwilling adventurers. As even more half-formed disagreements broke out, and the students continued to droll on, Lancer chose to quietly observe.

He had a sneaking suspicion that the way the youngest Fenton subtly shifted his weight and narrowed his eyes in defiance would speak volumes, if only Lancer could figure out exactly what it was being said. There was something entirely too off-putting by the way Danny's face would begin to spark with some semblance of emotion, only to be hastily subdued and contorted into what could only be described as indifference. Annoyance, anger, exasperation, exhaustion and... wait, was that regret? It was all nearly to quick to catch, and it left some part of teacher wondering if he'd imagined it, but he was _sure_ he'd seen the teenager in question shirk slightly with apprehensive _guilt_.

"He's just a liar!" Dash's accusation suddenly seemed to ignite a fire in Danny's eyes, and Lancer thought that he might just stand up for himself...

Only he didn't have to. Jack's bellow tore through the argumentative voices like one of those ridiculous bazooka's he sometimes carried around, instantly and effectively silencing each and every protest, "That's ENOUGH!"

"Dad?" Even Danny looked caught off guard by the sudden outburst, eyes wide and voice meek.

"My boy might have kept some secrets, but he is a Fenton, and we are NOT liars. I'm not just gonna stand here and let a bunch of punks gang up on him like this!" Jack squared his massive frame and turned his hardened glare toward the startled teacher, "This is ridiculous! Is this the kind of bullying that goes on in that school of yours?"

Lancer balked, jaw gaping slightly as his mind struggled to form coherent thoughts. He'd never before seen Mr. Fenton so adamant about anything that didn't involve ghost hunting or research.

When no verbal answer came Jack shook his head in disappointment, turned back to Danny, and loudly questioned, "Son, you didn't lie about being here, or knowing where we are, did you?"

"No!" Danny shook his head vigorously, "And I didn't lie about there being helpful ghosts either. Dora's awesome, and really does have the closest safe lair."

"Alright. Then that's that. I believe you." Jacks voice was so definitive that no one dared utter another word. Even Maddie, who's gaze was hidden behind her reflective lenses, stood rigid with her mouth pulled tight in uneasy silence.

Jack took a few steps forward and placed a confident, steady hand on Danny's shoulder, "Don't get me wrong..." He shifted his gaze between his son, and the goth girl at their side, "You, Sam, and Tucker are in boatloads of trouble, mister. But we can deal with that later."

"Right... right." Danny closed his eyes and nodded. His mind raced—his father had _never_ been this understanding before, or at least never seemed to be. It was baffling, but also pretty much a God-send. He'd just never expected the normally bumbling, shoot-first-and-ask questions-later personalty that was Jack Fenton to be the voice of reason, and first on his side—besides Team Phantom of course—Maybe, just maybe, things with his parents really were changing...

That sentiment lifted Danny's spirits considerably, and he gave his father a timid, genuine smile. After a split second he'd turned to look at the group, ignoring the judgmental glares from some of his peers, "Right. Ok then. We're coming up on Skulker's hunting ground... which really isn't a nice place to be. The quicker we get away, the better."

"Skulker?" Jack's eyes lit up with an almost childish curiosity, and just as quickly as it'd appeared, his serious, commanding tone had melted away to something far more eager and familiar. This was the Jack Fenton everyone knew, "Hunting grounds? You mentioned lairs? Have we seen this one before? What kind of powers does he have? Do you think we could take a sample of-"

"Whoa! Slow down Mr. F!" Tucker suddenly broke into a small fit of laughter from his place at Maddie's side. Despite his near-blindness, he narrowed his teal-green eyes on the bright orange blob he knew was Danny's dad, "I've got some info on my tablet I can let you look at later if you want, but I think we should probably get moving."

"He's right, Dad." Danny couldn't help but offer an amused chuckle when his father's lip jutted out in a quivering pout, "Sheesh, really? Ok, quick run-down I guess... he's the metal one, with the green flaming mohawk. Er... well, he's _in_ the metal suit, really. Calls himself the ' _Ghost Zone's Greatest Hunter_.'" Danny bobbled his head and mocked. "He always blabs on about capturing m-uuhh-Phantom," He paused, and bit his lower lip. He really hoped no one caught that little snafu, "Anyway, he's definitely on the _'stay the hell away from'_ list."

"If he's so bad, why are we headed straight for him?" Dash questioned. Several others murmured inquisitively under the breaths.

" _Because,_ " Danny huffed, "We're going to have to go _around_ his lair to get to Dora's. If there was a better way, trust me, we'd take it." He turned his gaze back in the direction they were headed, "But there isn't... not unless you just wanna jump and just start floating aimlessly and _hope_ you don't run into something that really just wants to eat you. Or worse. Seriously, _be my guest_."

Dash seemed to actually consider the option for a moment before rolling his eyes and crossing his arms. He sighed, defeated, and leaned against a nearby rock, "Whatever."

"We should be able to pretty much just hug the outside of the forest. But we'll need to be fast, and _quiet._ I'm really hoping he's not around." He closed his eyes and sighed, "Just stick together, and don't get lost..."  
***

"This is troubling news." The Yeti leader grumbled through the Fenton Phones.

Jazz had always been a little surprised by Frostbite. He was monstrously large, powerful, and battle-worn, yet his booming voice held a soft sense of kindness that would seem entirely out of place if you didn't know him. Over the past couple of years he'd become something of a mentor to her younger brother, and though he never did tell Danny quite how old he was, they'd come to the conclusion he'd been around for a pretty considerable amount of time.

He gave a low, thoughtful growl that ended with a 'tsk,' and murmured quietly, "I find it hard to believe it is mere coincidence."

"What's going on?" Jazz asked curiously. She was still sitting rigidly in her bedroom, one hand petting absentmindedly at the small fluffy bumps in her comforter.

"There have been numerous problems in the Ghost Zone recently... everything from normally complacent ghosts becoming agitated to entire lesser lairs crumbling away or vanishing. Many of us can _feel_ the disturbances in the very air, and though the majority of us have kept our senses relatively in tact, some ghosts have reportedly been acting rather erratically." He paused, and Jazz thought she heard the ruffle of fur followed by a light, metallic tapping, "Something sinister is happening, and we've been unable to figure out exactly what it is. You said there was a measurable amount of Ectoplasm in your air, did you not?"

"Yeah... its starting to fade now, but it's strongest near the park where my brother and the other students were." She sighed, running her delicate fingers through her messy pony-tail, "The GIW has it all blocked off, and I can't get anywhere close. Something big happened there Frostbite, the whole park is just _gone._ "

"I wonder..." His voice died away to a hum.

"Frostbite?"

"It's... hmm. Never mind. Our first priority now should be finding The Great One and the human children. If he is alive and able, there is no doubt he will find his way to one of our mutual friends. That is where we will start our search."

Jazz swallowed hard, "Uh... I might have forgotten to mention that _our_ parents were at the park too..."

There were several tense seconds of silence, "Oh... and he has not told them who he is yet, I take it?"

"No."

The Yeti on the other end of the line let loose a nasally, exasperated exhale, "All the more reason to hurry, I suppose. I'll have someone posted on this frequency at all times. If anything else happens, let us know immediately."  
***

Maddie trudged along silently, thin gloved fingers nestled absentmindedly just on the hilt of her blaster. Every ambient sound made her twitch, and every time the strangely floating chunks of ground beneath them would wobble or shift she'd tense up expecting some sort of ambush attack.

If this had happened at any other time she would probably have been ecstatic, eyes darting to take in every little detail. The sheer, overwhelming amount of knowledge they could gain just from being in the Ghost Zone... Part of her wanted to just stop and study, scribbling down anything of interest...

But not right now. Not since her son had admitted to regularly putting his life in danger by taking trips into the uncharted dimension—with his friends mind you—only to tack on the little tidbit that he'd been conversing and palling around with _ghosts_!

He _swore_ that they weren't all violent, ectoplasmic menaces—some of them were apparently friendly—And, admittedly, ever since the Disastroid, both she and Jack had voiced doubts in their various long standing theories and beliefs... after all, Phantom had just about disproved all of them that day, and only continued to do so. They had even formed a sort of unspoken truce with the ghost-boy, and he'd yet to betray that trust.

She was being naive and stubborn, and part of her _knew_ that. She knew she was wrong about many things involving ghosts, and had known for a long time...

But deep down she still had a hard time truly accepting it—and an even harder time accepting that Danny had apparently been living some type of dangerous secret life right beneath their noses.

The way he'd talked to her...

And the way he'd pulled away when she touched him...

What happened to her baby boy? Why couldn't she see it? Why _didn't_ she see it?

She was a good mother... or so she'd thought. Good mother's weren't supposed to scare their children or be oblivious to their stupid, death defying stunts.

Oh, God... what if a ghost had killed him during one of his little _adventures_? They would have never known; he'd have been lost to the Ghost Zone forever.

She glanced up to stare at the back of Danny's head, goggles giving her vision a deep, red hue. He was marching along, occasionally whispering to Samantha...

Was this her fault? Had the goth somehow convinced her son to venture into the Zone despite the dangers? She was certainly the dark and brooding type—always fascinated with the mysterious and unknown—maybe...

No. That wasn't fair. Maddie knew better than that. Sam had practically been part of their family for years, and _everyone_ knew that the two of them would eventually get together. Samantha Manson wasn't the type to seduce and trick her son into doing something he didn't really want to do.

She sighed, and lowered her gaze. She knew she was just looking for someone else to pass blame to. She really should be ashamed of herself... but she just couldn't come to grips with everything that was going on.

It seemed like Jack had though, which was downright shocking. Her husband had always been a kind, understanding man, despite what others regularly thought of him... but for him to just take everything Danny had said at face value and just _roll with it_... He had been so calm, and collected. He wasn't angry, and certainly didn't look betrayed—how could he just put on such a straight face? He said he trusted Danny, and he meant it. He was willing to give their son, and the _ghosts,_ the benefit of the doubt.

If he could do that so easily, why couldn't she?

Maddie was suddenly jerked from her thoughts when Tucker groaned quietly beside her, using one hand to roughly rub at his eyes. Something was different about him—something looked off...

Oh. How could she have missed it? She quietly asked, "Tucker, where are your glasses?"

He jumped, clearly startled at being suddenly addressed. His hand fell, and he turned a sheepish grin in her direction, "They broke during the commotion. I've been trying to do some work on my tablet, but I'm blind as a bat without them, and can't wear contacts..."

"What kind of work?"

Tucker couldn't help but squirm a bit under her gaze. Even with his poor eyesight he could make out the fact that she had those cold, red lenses intensely focused on him. It made him feel like she was glaring at all times—combine that with her stern, no-nonsense tone...

He sighed. She was very smart, and any information he told her would be absorbed like a sponge and thoroughly scrutinized for clues. She was now prying for answers, rightfully so he supposed, and he knew he'd have to play the game; the balancing act of answering her questions with just enough truth to satisfy her, but doing so in a vague enough way that she wouldn't be able to piece everything together.

It wasn't Tucker's right to give up Danny's secrets, and he certainly didn't intend to, "Oh, just trying to figure out about how long it's gonna take us to reach Dora's kingdom. I don't have _everything_ stored on this tablet... we weren't exactly expecting to end up here today, after all."

That may have been a little bit of a lie—he had access to all of their records of course—but she seemed to buy it at least enough to bite her lower lip and nod.

"How long has this been going on?" Her tone was cold, and quiet. She wasn't looking directly at him now, but at something in the distance. He couldn't quite make out her expression, but her posture was stiff and foreboding.

Tucker chewed on his lip a bit, and brought one hand up to scratch at his scalp beneath his hat. He thought about fibbing, but figured it wasn't really necessary. Instead, he decided to be blunt, "Since the beginning of freshman year."

She let out a gasp—though the techno-geek was pretty sure she tried to muffle it with one hand—then muttered under her breath, "Four years..."

"Eh... has it been that long already?" Tucker attempted to jest a bit, but stopped when he noticed a small heave of her shoulders. Her hand was still pressed firmly to her lips, and despite hr best efforts, a small, undignified sob escaped.

Thankfully Danny wasn't close enough for even his advanced hearing to catch it. Tucker took a deep breath and cleared his throat, "Sorry, I guess I shouldn't joke. I uh... I got a hankie here somewhere if you want it." He hastily patted each of his pockets until he found what he was looking for and held it out without turning to face her completely. There was no reason to make her feel worse by staring.

There was an awkward silence for a few seconds, but eventually he felt her fingers brush against his as she pulled the cloth away, and reached up to raise her goggles to her forehead. She quickly dabbed her tears away and licked her lips, "I've been wrong about pretty much everything, haven't I?"

Tucker kept his face as neutral as possible. He had no idea how to answer that, but thankfully, it looked as though she wasn't really expecting him to. She straightened her back and lowered her goggles once again, "When this is all over, we're having a nice long chat with your parents, young man."

His mouth gaped slightly, and he swore he heard her snort. They'd been so pre-occupied with what was going on and keeping Danny's secret for the moment, he hadn't even thought about what this meant in the long run.

The attack at the park had pretty much guaranteed that everything was about to change for all of them—Not that they had expected to be able to go on the same way forever—but they had wanted to do things on their own time. Freakshow of all people had forced their hand... Again. There was the whole Reality Gauntlet thing after all.

And even with Maddie's best efforts to guilt him, Tucker could only think about how his best friend was going to suffer the worst of it.  
***

Danny was doing his best to quell the overwhelming sense of dread that was ever present and growing. They had finally reached the hunting grounds, and were going the long way around to avoid being in view of Skulker's main lair... but that would hardly mean anything if the robotic menace sensed them. They'd been walking for a couple hours now, and he knew it was only a matter of time before _someone_ began complaining or arguing again, and he was desperate to make sure they were somewhere less vulnerable before that happened.

His battered body was on autopilot as he moved. Exhaustion constantly teased at the back of his mind, and he fact that he _still_ wasn't absorbing energy from the Zone as quickly as he normally did only served to distract him further. He was having a hard time focusing on anything, really.

They were surrounded by so much stray ectoplasmic energy, and he was so depleted that he almost didn't feel the small, familiar tug of frigid, wispy power build up in his core until it came seeping from his mouth in a thin, misty cloud of icy perspiration. He groaned quietly, praying that none of his currently unwanted entourage had seen that, as his eyes hastily shot toward the air.

"Company." Danny needlessly warned Sam, who was already tense and reaching for her backpack. She'd seen his ghost sense go off, and was preparing for the worst.

"Well, Well... what exactly is going on here, whelp?"

Several of his classmates gasped, and he heard his dad shuffle forward to stand just behind him. There was a small whine, no doubt coming from his mother's weapon.

"Dammit..." Danny took a deep breath and turned his gaze toward the voice. The air was empty, but that did little to fool the half-dead teen, "And here I thought we'd just go for a nice, uneventful stroll."

Skulker remained invisible, but gave a curious chuckle, "My grounds are quite nice this time of year, aren't they?" There was a quiet click, and Danny knew the mechanical hunter had a lock on him. He cocked his head, desperately trying to pinpoint the cloaked ghost's exact location. His body's instincts pushed for him to transform, but he fought back and did his best to tap into what powers he could without giving himself away.

Danny swallowed, "It's been a long day Skulker, and I really am not in the mood for this. How about you just let us be on our merry little way, and pretend you never saw us."

"Not a chance." The ghost materialized several meters away and charged at breakneck speed, wrapping his arms around the halfa's waist as he shifted to intangibility. Both of them soared through the first layer of trees, and deeper into the forest beyond. Danny gave a sharp cry as the wound in his side flared, momentarily paralyzing him.

"Danny!" Several voices cried out, but the one that struck him the most was his mother's.

Her shrill, panicked scream cut through all the others and snapped him out of his pain-induced daze. He flailed haphazardly for a moment before Skulker released him—and the intangibility—sending the teen barreling into a nearby cluster of thorny shrubs.

"Son of a bitch!" Danny roared, phasing himself backward through the sharp vines. He grunted with the effort, clumsily landing on his feet in a small clearing a short distance away. Luckily the vegetation was thick enough to hide the use of his inhuman abilities... but if the sound of heavy footsteps and hollers were any indication, that wouldn't last for long.

"What's the matter, ghost-child?" Skulker taunted, once again appearing at Danny's side, "Where's your usual witty banter?"

"I told you, I'm not in the mood." Danny sneered, dodging to the side just as the ghost lashed out with his blade, "How about a rain-check?"

"No, I think not. I'd like to claim my prize NOW _._ " The hunter pulled back, leveling his arm to settle his sights on the youth. There was a whirl of machinery as a small compartment on his wrist opened up, revealing an already sparking laser.

The half-ghost barely managed to roll out of the way, and could practically feel the heat from the beam as it bore a deep, searing hole into the tree behind him. He licked his lips and charged a small ecto-blast in the palm of his hand, curling his still-human fingers around the cool, bubbling green energy.

He gasped as he was suddenly assaulted by a hot, stabbing pain in his chest, his core pulsing weakly. The energy in his hand blinked and almost fizzled out, but Danny managed to pull it together just long enough to fire it off at the now hastily advancing ghost.

It was a pathetic attempt at an attack. Even Skulker looked confused as the blast struck and practically slid right of his armor, dissipating into the air harmlessly.

"Oh come on!" Danny sighed, "Argghh!"

"What is _wrong_ with you?" The hunter stopped mid charge and hovered a few feet away, glowing green eyes staring curiously. He rolled his wrist in an exaggerated motion toward the youth in front of him, "I thought you were simply avoiding revealing your little secret. What is this nonsense?"

"Ugh... I don't know! It's none of your business!" Danny's eyes flashed dangerously, light blue giving way to toxic green as he charged another shot. He lobbed it with all the force he could muster.

Thankfully this blast had a little more 'oomph' than his last, and Skulker let out a gurgled growl as he was knocked out of the air. He collided violently against a tree, snapping it clean in two with a loud, echoing crack.

Danny fell to one knee, hand shooting up to cradle his injured side. His palm met with a thick, damp stickiness that could only mean that his bandages had come loose, and he glanced wearily down to investigate, then swore when he saw that his entire hand was coated in blood.

"Danny!" Sam's voice caught his attention and the half-ghost's eyes snapped up to meet hers. She was at the other end of the clearing, pushing back against a cluster of large, fern like leaves. One hand held a Fenton thermos, the other a lipstick blaster. Here lavender eyes went wide when she spied the blood, and she scrambled, nearly tripping on a twisted root as she darted out into the open.

"Stay back!" Danny warned, "There's no way he's down!"

"Danny?!" Jack's large frame shoved into view behind Sam, frantically scanning the clearing before settling on his son, "Oh my god!"

The teenager groaned, "It looks worse than it is... just stay ba-"

He was abruptly interrupted when Sam let out a startled scream. She was roughly hoisted into the air as the invisible hunter barked a throaty laugh, "I wanted you, Ghost-Child, but I suppose I'll have to settle for a consolation prize."

"Sam!" Danny grunted, jumping to his feet with his pain all but forgotten. He watched as Skulker teased, pretending to drop the squirming girl only to snatch her again before blasting off further into the hunting grounds. "Get back here you bastard!"

"Danny, wait!" Jack yelled, dashing forward in a feeble attempt to stop his son from sprinting off. He missed by inches, tripping over something in the brush and slamming face first into the undergrowth. Within seconds, Danny was completely out of sight once again, "Ach, stupid weeds! Danny, come back!"

The half-dead teenager ignored his father's cries, instead forcing himself to draw on the cold, throbbing pulse of power from his core. There wasn't much there, but he'd be damned if he let that stop him now. He felt the prickling tingle as two rings of light blinked into existence near his middle and spread, revealing his hidden ghost side.

His chest erupted into pain, but he ignored it and continued on, now soaring through the trees. He could feel the raw ectoplasm in the air sting his eyes and skin as he went invisible and shot upward, eyes scanning the horizon for his target.

Skulker was only a short distance away, struggling to keep hold of the now biting and kicking human in his arms. If the situation were less dire Danny probably would have laughed at the sheer amount of effort it took, but for the time being humor was the furthest thing from his mind. He shot forward like a bolt of lightning, transferring his intangibility to Sam as he passed through the other ghost. She yelped, startled by the sudden transfer, but quickly regained her senses, "Danny?"

"Y..Yep..." Was all he was able to reply, and a few seconds later he felt his invisibility and intangibility give out around him. It took every ounce of his Self control just to remain air-born.

Sam could feel each heaving breath he took, and she placed a gentle hand against his chest and glanced worriedly into his eyes, "You ok?"

"Dandy!" Danny hissed between clenched teeth. He slowly began to descend, concentration focused on making sure they didn't just free-fall.

There was a sudden bang, followed by the tell-tale whistling of a rushing rocket. Danny groaned, and curled himself around Sam as best he could before begging his powers to react, "Come on... come on..."

A flickering green bubble barely swirled into existence around them in time to absorb the missile's impact. There was a deafening explosion, and the shield held up just long enough to protect them from the brunt of the blast before shattering. Danny's eyes went wide when he felt the brunt of his power fade away with it, "Crap, no!"

The rings of light unwillingly emerged, and Danny did what he could to make sure he was beneath Sam as they plummeted. By some miracle he managed to tap into his core just enough to slow their fall, which was aided—somewhat painfully—by the thick growth of trees beneath them.

They landed with a muffled thud in some type of shrubbery, and Sam felt Danny's grip around her tighten as if he was checking to make sure she was still there. She was definitely bruised and sore, but nothing felt broken, so she carefully pulled away to check on him.

Danny let out a small groan as she shifted her weight, light blue eyes fluttering slowly open and settling on her. He swallowed hard and absentmindedly brought his hand to his side, "You... You hurt?"

She hastily shook her head. In one hand she still held the thermos secure, so she used the other to drag her fingers across his limp from in search of further injuries, "No, but you are, so don't move yet."

"I'll be fine..." Danny ignored her warning and rolled to his undamaged side. Despite his best efforts, he couldn't stop himself from giving a short, high pitched whine, "Ok, yeah... might need a few minutes. Where's Skulker?"

"Did you miss me already?"

The hunter's voice managed to strengthen Danny's resolve somewhat, and he instantly forced himself to his feet. He wobbled a bit, and felt Sam slip one of her arms under his in support. In spite of everything going on, he couldn't help but think guiltily, ' _Oh, man, I'm gonna get blood all over her..._ '

Skulker materialized in the air above them, laser raised and sights trained, "It looks like I've finally-"

His brag died away to silence mid-sentence as he cocked his head to the side and tensed, before clumsily landing on his hands and knees.

Sam felt Danny's body shift stiffly, as he brought one hand up to his chest. His knees nearly gave out and she found herself suddenly supporting the majority of his weight as he clenched his eyes tightly. Like earlier, a strange, thick shock-wave of energy suddenly pulsed through the air from somewhere deeper in the Zone, briefly washing over them before moving on. Neither the full-ghost, nor the half-ghost seemed to find the experience pleasant, and they both let out weak protests.

It was just as they seemed to be recovering when Jack came tearing through the woods. Within the span of just a few quick seconds his dark blue eyes narrowed first on Danny, who was slowly shaking his head back and forth in confusion, then bounced over to meet Sam, who seemed relatively fine.

Finally he hardened his gaze on the supposed ' _Ghost Zone's Greatest Hunter,_ ' and without skipping a beat, he aimed his ecto-gun and pulled the trigger, "Stay away from my son, you creep!"

Jack's aim couldn't have been more perfect, even if he didn't realize why. Skulker let out an angry shout as the hinge on his neck—probably initially damaged when Danny sent him crashing through the trees previously—gave out, and his metallic helmet was sent spiraling with a small, almost humorous sounding ' _pop.'_

Danny stood dumb and in awe for half a second before regaining enough of his sense to roll his shoulder and nod at Sam, "Now!"

The goth didn't need to be told twice. She ducked away from Danny's grasp and dashed forward so that she'd be in range. With one, well-practiced motion she activated the thermos and directed the bright, glowing beam of light toward the now slumping suit.

"Aggghhhhahahh" Skulker's true form gripped in vain at the rim of his armors neck, spitting various curses and insults, "I will get you, brat! Your pelt will lay at the foot of my beeeeee-"

There was a ' _slurping_ ' sound as the hunter vanished within the thermos, and Sam hastily capped it closed.

The three of them stood in awkward silence for several seconds before Danny's legs actually buckled, and he slumped forward to his knees. One hand shot out to support himself as he groaned, "Shit... ugh... gross."

"Danny!" Both Jack and Sam gave startled cries and dashed forward.

Sam was closer and quicker, and within seconds she had him wrapped in a tight embrace, "I got ya."

Jack scuffled to Danny's other side, completely confounded as he tried to gather his wits. The gravity of the situation seemed to crash into him all at once, and it left him breathless and numb. His son was hurt—badly, if the amount of blood staining his shirt and running down his leg were any indication—and they were stuck in the Ghost Zone with no hospital in sight.

Then there was the fact that Danny had run headlong into danger to save his girlfriend, without a single ounce of hesitation... which either meant he was acting on impulse, or had been in similar situations before; probably a bit of both considering everything he'd learned today already. The elder Fenton was both proud, and terrified of those implications.

Which lead to another question: How had they managed to fend off the metallic menace as well as they had? Somehow Danny had managed to get Sam back, and when Jack had arrived it looked as though they were in some type of standoff. Several insignificant cuts and bruises littered both teenager's skin, and the shrubbery around them was broken and matted. A quick glance upward revealed a few broken twigs and torn leaves in the trees... all the evidence suggested they'd fallen from a fairly impressive height.

Nothing added up. Not that he wasn't completely thankful, but how were they alive? What had happened before he'd found them? He took a deep, frustrated breath and pushed the questions away, realizing he had more important matters to attend to. He was about to kneel and drag the teenager into a bear hug when he was halted by Danny's sudden, unexpected chuckle.

"Well, that was something..." With a bit of help from Sam, Danny managed to push himself to his feet. He leaned a bit unsteadily against her thin but sturdy frame, and turned his head to plant a soft kiss on her cheek, "You ok?"

She narrowed her eyes and smacked him gently across the back, inciting a gurgled groan to escape from his lips, "Idiot."

Jack cleared his throat, and both teenagers gave an alarmed start, as if they'd forgotten he was even there. Danny's eyes shot upward to meet his father's, practically shifting through a maelstrom of emotions before settling on one that was something akin to fear, "Uh... dad..."

Jack felt like shouting and crying all at once, but resisted the urge and instead held out one massive palm, "Are you alright, son?"

"I'm uh... fine. Really." One hand rubbed nervously at the back of Danny's neck, which betrayed his lie, "It's not as bad as it looks... I think."

"Danny, what in the world-"

"We need to get moving." Danny suddenly insisted, looking guiltily away, "Dora's is still a long ways away, and we aren't out of the woods yet..." He suddenly cocked his head curiously and snickered, "Aww man, I wasn't even trying with that one."

"What are you...?" Jack sputtered, a dim stupor overtaking his senses.

Sam only rolled her eyes and interrupted, "I'd hardly call that a pun."

Danny shrugged tiredly, eyes fluttering as he struggled to stay upright, "Eh, forgive me if I'm not... not... exactly at my best right now."

"Don't you dare pass out!" Sam demanded, better securing her hold with one arm as she used the other to tug at the hem of his shirt. She delicately pulled, careful not to reveal too much to Danny's dad as she craned her neck to look at the wound.

"Oh shit, Danny, you might actually need stitches now." She took a deep breath and released his shirt, hastily pressing a palm against the bloodied shirt in a feeble attempt to stem the blood-flow. Danny cringed, but did little to resist.

Jack's eyes bugged the moment he saw the long, open gash in his son's side. The fact that both Danny and Sam seemed to be so non-nonchalant about it only fueled his panic induced paralysis, and it took several long seconds before he realized the goth was trying to shake him out of his daze.

"Mr. F! Helloooo... Ghost Zone to Mr. F!" She reached up to snap her fingers in front of his face, which finally seemed to do the trick. He blinked a few times and lowered his head in acknowledgment, the color drained from his face, "I left my bag with Tucker... and all of my supplies are in it. I need help getting him back so I can patch him up good enough to reach Dora's."

Jack suddenly sobered, and gave a quick, determined nod. Without giving Danny a chance to protest he swept one arm under his legs and hoisted him up to carry him bridal style.

Sam released her hold just as her boyfriend bit his lip and protested, "Oh, 'cuz this won't be embarrassing."

"Suck it up." Sam ordered, quickening her pace to keep up with the now trotting Jack, "Just put some pressure on your side and stay awake, ok?"

"Yeah, Yeah..." Danny obliged, weakly bringing his hand up to do as he was told before shifting his half-lidded eyes toward his father's stoic face, "That was a nice shot, by the way..."

Jack could only raise a brow quizzically, as he stole a quick glance at his son, "What...?"

"Against Skulker... nice shot. Did you... ah, ouch... did you see the look on his face? C.. classic..."

"Danny," Jack's view returned to the forest ahead, creases etching into his brow as a frown began forming at the corner of his lips, "What the hell were you...?"

Danny exhaled loudly through his nose before interrupting, "I know... I know I have a _lot_ of explaining to do. And I... ack... I know you're probably really... freaking pissed..." He winced, pulling his fingers away to study them curiously for a moment. He found himself suddenly very thankful that the Zone's natural light painted everything with a faint, sickly green hue. It helped disguise the small, glistening specks of ectoplasm in his blood.

His father was anything but delicate as he took each, heavy footed step through the growth. Danny sniffed as his body was jarred painfully, but otherwise managed to deal with his discomfort, "Dad, I promise I'll spill once... once we get everyone somewhere safe..."

Jack replied with a short grunt, and steeled his expression. Danny's heart fell... he knew his dad was well beyond pissed and well into livid when he made that face, "Dad..."

"I trust you, son."

"Wait, what?" Danny balked, his half open eyes widening in surprise. He shifted as well as he could to get a better view of his dad's features.

"Stop squirming, kiddo." The eldest Fenton slowed slightly as he assessed his hold and tightened his grip, "You're a heck of a lot bigger than you used to be."

"Dad?"

"I told you I trusted you." Jack replied bluntly, once again picking up his pace. Sam trudged along silently beside them, lavender eyes intensely judging the older man's face as he spoke. He was very obviously distraught and upset, but his tone had shifted to something slightly more understanding, "I still do."

The halfa's mouth bobbed for a few seconds before he licked his dying lips, "Then trust me when I say you wanna... set... set me down before we reach the others... I can walk out."

"What? You're in no condition..."

"Mom."

"What about your... oh... OH." Jack's chin scrunched funnily as he pursed his lips in consideration, "Yeah... That's probably a good idea."

There was no doubt in either of the male Fenton's minds that Maddie would absolutely freak once she saw Danny's current predicament, and neither of them wanted to aggravate her mental state further if they could avoid it.  
***

Cold, lifeless fingers curled and uncurled around the battered, metallic thermos. The violent, angry energy within surged threateningly, but could hardly expect to accomplish anything trapped as it was.

"This is unexpected..." The ancient ghost mumbled quietly, "Clockwork was keeping more secrets than we thought."

"I don't give a damn about some decrepit ghost's secret!" An angry, high pitched voice roared in reply, "You didn't tell me _that_ would happen. I barely escaped with my life!"

"You were warned about the danger."

"You said it would be contained!"

"I said no such thing. You are supposed to be an expert on ancient artifacts, are you not? Surely you knew to expect certain... surprises."

Freakshow scoffed, crossing his arms impatiently, "How dare you..."

"No. How dare _you!_ " The ghost interrupted, cape ruffling with static in a non-existent wind as it raised it's eerie, eyeballed staff. The small green crystal mounted in it's branches flashed powerfully, "You are _human._ You have the nerve to speak to me in such a way?"

The ringleader shirked slightly, his frail frame folding in on itself protectively, "I didn't mean..."

"Of course you didn't." The ghost's deep, echoing voice soothed as it went back to rotating and studying the object in its hand, "All that matters is that you succeed in the end. The shard was small; it will need time to grow... though it's quite unfortunate that you allowed the little abomination to _escape._ Considering the current state of affairs, he's now much more difficult to observe."

"Escape?" Freakshow hissed, "I'd hardly call that an escape! That... that _portal_ tore through everything! Even Lydia..." he bit back a snarl, "She almost..."

"Enough. Leave me and resume your duties. I have much to consider."

"Fine." Freakshow nodded his head and backed out of the demolished chamber, slamming the door behind him. After gaining a fair bit of distance he growled, throwing a slight tantrum with his arms and stomping his feet, "See how he likes it when I take that power for myself and make him bow to _me."_

***  
Meanwhile, deep in the shadows another ghost hovered invisibly, the corners of his lips curling into a dastardly smile, "Interesting... all so very interesting. Seems like you've been dragged into the game as well, haven't you Daniel?"

* * *

 **Authors notes:** A smidge of plot for ya. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter! I'd love some reviews, and remember, I welcome constructive criticism.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's notes:** Hello all. Sorry so much for the wait. Works been murder, and there's been a few crappy things to deal with in my life as of late.

Anyways, I'm eager to get on with this story, gonna shout out thanks to all those who reviewed. You guys are seriously awesome.

Hope you enjoy this chapter... and don't forget to review!

Chapter Five

* * *

In all fairness, Maddie Fenton reacted slightly better than expected when Danny came stumbling out of the hunting grounds. She didn't shriek or scream. She didn't freak out. Instead, she marched forward and wrapped her son in a strong hug that left him in a bit of a daze. Her goggles hid her expression, but a quiet sob snapped him to his senses, and he gave her a gentle pat.

"Mom..."

She didn't reply, only tightened her embrace. It wasn't until Danny gave a weak groan that she pulled away, finally seeming to notice the full extent of his injuries, "Oh my God, Danny!"

Before she had a chance to act he ducked from her grasp, one hand planting itself firmly against his side to stop her from lifting his shirt, "It's... It's not as bad as it looks."

"Wha...what? Danny, hold still. Let me..."

"No!" Danny quickly back-peddled, stumbling clumsily in the attempt, "I'm... I'll be fine..."

In the split second of awkward silence that followed, Sam took the opportunity to seize control of the situation and wrapped one arm around his waist, leading him toward an oddly colored stump, "Sit. Now."

The half-ghost couldn't help the sheepish smirk that crossed his features, momentarily marred by a quick flash of pain, "Yes Ma'am." He complied, and then bowed his head tiredly, eyes peeking out from beneath his messy bangs to settle on his still speechless mother. His father had slowly drifted in her direction, and had one arm wrapped loosely around her. Neither looked at all sure on what to do, other than stand and stare dumbly. It made Danny feel guilty, and a bit nervous... his parents had never been so confused and complacent. It was as if they were frozen in place, and it felt wrong. They were usually so headstrong and high-energy… He bit his lower lip and turned back to focus on his girlfriend as she worked.

Sam knelt on one knee, and placed a steady hand on Danny's shoulder, only to be startled when she noticed the slight, clearly uncontrolled tremble in his frame. Without prompt, Tucker was already at her side with her bag, digging through and removing several items of interest. The two of them instinctively placed themselves in the best positions possible to block their classmate's view, but that did little to stop the collective gasp that filled the air when Sam lifted the hem of Danny's shirt just enough to reveal his broken and bleeding side.

"Holy shit Fenton..." Dash's voice was only somewhat louder than the rest of frantic mutterings from the unwanted observers. Other notable comments included Paulina's disgusted "ew" and the unsettling sound of Mikey getting sick in the distance.

Danny winced, folding in on himself further as he realized just how much attention he was garnering. Sam narrowed her gaze and whispered, "Stop. There's nothing we can do about it right now. Try to ignore them."

He nodded, then let out a labored sigh, "How's it look, doc?"

She hitched her breath, risking a quick glance to make sure no one was close enough to hear when she replied, "It's... not great... but it was worse earlier. It's healing... You shouldn't need stitches now if you can keep from straining yourself. How's... everything else?"

"Numb. " Danny mumbled, jerking suddenly as she began spreading a thick, stinging gel across his open wound. After a few seconds he leaned into her touch, despite the pulsing ache that began to worm its way across his rib-cage. Her gentle touch felt like a warm fire, and the prickling sensation actually felt soothing in a way.

Sam's amethyst eyes narrowed, and she cocked her head slightly as her fingers dragged gingerly across his skin. She took a deep breath and lowered her voice even further, "Your feels like _ice_."

He raised a questioning brow—after all, he was usually way cooler than the average human—but when his gaze met the pool of concern in hers, he realized exactly what she was implying. "Oh… crap. Ok…" His eyes snapped shut as he concentrated, desperately trying to gain some semblance of control over his powers.

After a few agonizingly long seconds he felt a familiar, albeit alarmingly weak, spark of energy. He did his best to rein it in, and only relaxed in his endeavor when he felt Sam's fingers twitch against his skin, and heard her whisper, "There we go..."

Unfortunately this caused a sharp, relentless pain to blossom deep in his chest, and he let out a quiet, entirely undignified whimper, "D...Dammit..."

Sam tensed, and did her best to keep him steady as he leaned forward, his chilled breath causing goosebumps to form on the skin of her neck, "Danny?"

His eyes cracked open slightly, and he turned his neck so that his face was buried in her hair, "It's my core..."

She swallowed hard, then steeled her nerves as her mouth flattened into a determined line, "We're almost done. I just gotta wrap your-"

She was cut off when Tucker loudly cleared his throat, "Hold up, she's coming over."

Then Maddie was suddenly by Sam's side, one hand outstretched to steady her son by the shoulder, "Danny?" Her tone was worried, but calmer than expected and surprisingly gentle, "Look at me."

Danny was caught off guard by her proximity, but managed to smile meekly in her direction anyway, "Hey mom..."

Her shoulders relaxed in a faint sense of relief when he didn't pull away from her. She carefully used her free hand to hold Danny's shirt in place as she nodded toward Sam, who hastily went to work clearing away the rest of the blood and ineffective bandages, replacing them with clean ones. Maddie's expression was still unreadable under her goggles, but by the way she pursed her lips it was obvious that she was meticulously watching the teenager work. She didn't interrupt—although it was glaringly obvious that she wanted to at times—only giving a nod of approval when Sam finally pinned the end, "Nursing classes, huh?"

Sam craned her neck to look away, but replied, "Yeah."

Danny shook his head and groaned, "Mom... I'm sorry."

"I just want to know what's going on with you, sweetie..." She interrupted, "And your father and I want answers as soon as possible. But... I know we aren't safe here." Even though she was addressing him, her gaze hadn't left the young teenage goth at her side, "How far are we to this ghost... er... _friend_... of yours?"

Sam accepted a clean cloth that Tucker had dug from her bag, and did her best to wipe the blood and grime from her hands. She crinkled her nose at the mess, and sighed, "Still a ways, but if we really hoof it... maybe six or eight hours? We usually don't _walk_ when we're here, so it's hard to tell. It all depends on how well the landmasses line up, and well..." She looked back toward her injured boyfriend, her brow pulled tight with worry, "Honestly, we're gonna need a lot of luck. The three of us know our way around, and could get by with some help from the neutral ghosts... but..." Sam tore her gaze away and dragged her eyes across the rest of the group, "It's going to be a long, dangerous hike with a bunch of newbies like all of you... no offense."

"Some taken." Maddie sounded fairly off-put, but Sam just shrugged her shoulders indifferently.

"Sam doesn't mean it like that," Tucker interrupted, "More like, it's easy for the three of us to sneak around when necessary and all that, but it's pretty impossible to hide a group this big."

Danny cleared his throat, bringing their attention back toward him. He scratched the back of his head, "It doesn't help that... ugh... ouch. Sorry..." He wrapped his other hand around his side before continuing, "We're in a dangerous part of the Zone. Of all the places we could end up..."

"Think of it like a really big city, with a few bad neighborhoods." Tucker added, "There's some pretty cool places to sight-see, but this is where you come when you wanna buy something illegal or get mugged. Or both."

"That's one way of putting it." Danny declared, carefully pushing himself to his feet. Both his mother and Sam reached out to catch him in case he fell, but after a few seconds he was steady enough, and they began moving toward the rest of the group. "We should move. Now. We might be safe from Skulker, but..."

"We still gotta get away from Ember." Sam groaned, "I really, really don't need _that_ headache."

"Who's Ember?" Jack asked as they approached, stern, but equally curious eyes demanding an answer from the trio.

"A bitch." Sam answered matter-of-factually, causing Tucker to snicker and Danny to roll his eyes.

"Let's just say she's _hard to forget_." Danny mumbled, rubbing his side mindlessly, "Doesn't matter, really. She's kinda unpredictable... it's a coin toss whether she'll just straight up attack, or stop by for a chat. So if she _does_ show up… don't shoot and ask questions later."

"She hasn't really been _as_ violent lately..." Tucker rubbed his eyes, "She might just leave us alone."

"I doubt it, after running into Skulker like that." Danny sighed, slowly moving forward, "Let's just..."

"Should you _really_ be walking?" Danny's head snapped toward the unexpected question. Valerie had spoken up from near the back of the herd, hardened green eyes dead-set on the half-ghost teenager. Her tone was almost accusing, though it hid a tiny hint of worry as well, "You almost look like you're just about _dead on your feet_."

Danny grew somewhat rigid at the comment, and he wondered just what her tone was implying. After a bit of a stare down, he gave a light chuckle and replied, "Aw, nice to know you care. I'll be fine."

She remained quiet after that, but crossed her arms defiantly and glared as if to suggest she didn't believe him in the least. Unfortunately, her confrontational attitude seemed to spark something in the rest of his nosy classmates, and several of them began insistently asking questions themselves, ranging from several 'What happened' to 'Are you gonna die?'

Danny began to shirk away, clearly overwhelmed. He didn't completely shut down, however, until Dash barked, "Why the hell would a ghost like that have such a grudge against a dweeb like you? _"_

Danny's face blanked, and his eyes widened. His mind was far too sluggish, and his body hurt way too much for him to form a quick and witty reply, instead he took a few shaky steps back, "What?"

Sam realized just how out of sorts Danny was and went on the offensive, "You know what Dash? Why don't you just shut the hell up?!" She squared her shoulders and flicked her head angrily, driving the hair over her shoulder, "Where do you get off asking something like that with the way _you_ beat the shit out of people for just existing?" She cocked her hip and raised her chin, making even those taller than her feel like she was looking down on them judgmentally, "We're in _way_ too much danger, and I'm _way_ too tired to put up with your dumbass, tough guy bullshit right now. _We're_ leaving. Now."  
***

Jack watched his son intently as they slowly trudged on, following at a far enough distance that he was fairly certain he'd be able to remain inconspicuous in his musings, but close enough to catch the little details and occasional hushed snippet of a whisper. It had been a few hours now, and other than the occasional appearance of what Danny had called 'Neutral' ghosts, and the insistent whines of the teenagers they had in tow, nothing too terrible had happened. There had been one incident where the path had broken away, and the law of gravity had to be tested as they all leapt precariously across chunks of floating islands... luckily it seemed the rules of physics were more forgiving in the Ghost Zone. They weren't able to actually fly, but they were definitely making jumps that would otherwise be impossible in their world. He found himself silently wondering how everything worked, and how they related to things in this dimension… just what other inhumane feats could they preform here?

His thoughts bounced between two points, as if stuck on a giant, ultra-tense trampoline. When he was 'high' his thoughts were focused on Danny and his secrets. Everything from fear to admiration crossed his mind... fear for his son's wellbeing and dreaded secrets, and admiration for his apparent bravery and determination. He wanted to hoist the boy up and shake him, ask him what was wrong, demand answers and then put him under house arrest until he was forty... then press him for all the unique and amazing knowledge locked away in his head.

But he knew that if he over-reacted overzealously like he usually did, he'd never get the truth... and he knew that whatever that truth was, it had to be worse than ' _Hey mom and dad, I've been exploring the Ghost Zone.'_

There was just so much that was... well, _off_ , about his son. It was the only word Jack's exhausted brain could come up with as an explanation. Off.

His scientific side screamed at him... he _should_ be able to figure this out. What was the puzzle? He was good at puzzles, believe it or not, even better than Maddie. He was the one who came up with offbeat, roundabout ways to solve their problems. His wife had once said to a snobby colleague, ' _Jack doesn't necessarily stand in the box and think outside it, he's usually stuck outside it until he finds a door that lets him back in._ '

He didn't always understand the individual pieces, but he knew how to put them all together. His wife was the meticulous, detail oriented one. She broke things apart. He was the one who was able to put them back together using instinct. He sometimes saw the big picture before he even knew what he was looking at.

So it drove him absolutely crazy that he couldn't see _this_ particular big picture. He was getting the pieces, one by one, and slowly piecing them together... but he didn't know to what end.

Danny _was_ the secret.

And then his mind would take him back down, and he'd be on a different tangent: Danny was hurt. Danny shouldn't even be walking. Jack had once broken _two_ ribs—granted, he was reckless and younger than Danny when it happened—and he was down for the count for a week.

Danny tried to hide it, but Jack knew. The boy had at least a few broken ribs. He'd seen more than he let on back in the woods, when Sam had lifted his shirt. Horrifying, black and blue bruises littered across unnaturally bumpy skin. He'd heard when Sam had said 'stitches.' He _saw_ the open, bleeding wound. That was horror movie material.

He also saw it the second time, as Sam was bandaging. It didn't look the same—granted, his panic and the thick atmosphere of the Ghost Zone could have affected his vision—but he _swore_ it looked far less gruesome than it had just a short time before. It _had_ to be a trick of the eyes... right?

Regardless... Danny _shouldn't_ be walking. Yet he trucked along, one unsteady foot after another, glaring straight ahead through the thick, swirling fog of green ectoplasmic atmosphere. His expression was grim, but oddly confident.

Danny knew _exactly_ where they were, and where they were going... by memory no less. How that was even possible, Jack didn't know. To the eldest Fenton, it looked as though the entire, twisted world around them continuously shifted and flowed. It was seemingly ever-changing, and each apparent landmark was spaced so far apart that it was impossible for him to form any semblance of a map in his mind. He was one hundred percent confident that if asked, he wouldn't even be able to lead them back to the forest they'd left just a few hours ago.

Danny was leading them with an uncanny resolve... He was obviously exhausted, and needed both rest and medical attention, but there really was no one else to do the job, so they just had to stay back and follow. That was so... wrong. Jack and Maddie were the adults here... shouldn't they take control?

His brain screamed yes, his gut told him no. All their years on ghostly research, and now they were completely out of their element. Very little of what they thought they knew was correct. Their son—and his friends apparently—knew more than they did.

Jack was ashamed of himself. To think that when he'd seen Danny in the woods, slumped and grasping for breath, he'd froze. His mind had blanked. He didn't know how to handle it, or what to do. He would have stayed that way had Sam not kicked him into gear too. Of all things, it took a teenage girl—probably not much more than a hundred and twenty pounds—to get him moving.

He always thought, as most people did, that he'd keep cool under pressure... and to be fair he _usually_ did. He was no stranger to putting himself in danger, to fighting ghosts and standing up to world destroying disasters with zeal.

He always thought about how amazing and awesome it would be if his kids followed in his footsteps, formed a family tradition, hunting ghosts and protecting people. It was dangerous, sure, but he always told himself that he'd be able to protect them no matter what.

He knew now how untrue that was. If he was finally being honest with himself, he actually knew how untrue it was when Vlad had revealed himself to be an evil, villainous monster willing to sacrifice the world for his own gain. He knew it when Phantom had come to save the day... when Phantom had been the one to save the world. To save his family.

But he still resisted. His family had gotten through every tough time relatively unscathed... It was still very easy to ignore the truth.

He couldn't do that anymore. They'd been openly attacked in the park, during a peaceful picnic. Danny had been injured, but still rushed _toward_ the murderous ghost who clearly wanted to kill him. The ghost that had grabbed Sam, and used her as bait to force Danny forward.

He slowly began to mull over those events in his mind, picturing each terrifying scene in as much detail as he could muster.

He could remember the ghost from several attacks on the town, having crossed paths with the menace himself on a handful of occassions. He was intimidating... The metal suit. The flaming Mohawk. The sadistic grin and cringe inducing tone he took when he antagonized Danny, and the unfazed, expectant smirk that crossed his features when Danny replied with a snarky quip of his own.

They knew each other... The look of familiarity when he called him...

 _Ghost child_.

Everything seemed to slow to a crawl right then for Jack. His mind froze on that one, descriptive phrase. It just didn't make sense... why would he call Danny _that_? Jack had to have misheard... had to have imagined it.

He replayed the scene in his thoughts over and over, and he couldn't come to any other conclusion. That's what the ghost—Danny had said his name was Skulker—had said.

It was so blatant too. Easily said with a slight hint of an insult. _Ghost child._ And Danny didn't bat an eye at the term. He was _used_ to being called that. How many times had Danny heard those words? How many times had Danny come face to face with that particular ghost?

Was it because they were a family of hunters? Did the ghosts really know that much about them? That didn't make a whole lot of sense either, but it was the only link Jack could see.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he almost toppled over Danny, who'd stopped abruptly and was staring eerily off in the distance.

There was a slight, almost misty cold draft around them, and Jack wondered where it had come from. Sam and Tucker both looked rather ominous as well, their own eyes scanning back and forth as if looking for something that should be painfully obvious.

"Do you know how many?" Jack heard Tucker ask, just as Sam gave the techno-geek a stern glare. She nodded back toward the rest of the group, and Tucker flushed, "Err..."

Danny shook his head and shivered slightly, "I think... I think there's two."

Sam suddenly cleared her throat very loudly, causing Danny to start. He turned his head to question her, and out of the corner of his eye caught sight of Jack standing just a few feet behind them. A short moment of panic flashed across his face, and he brought one hand up to rub the back of his neck, "Uh..."

Any explanation that Danny might have given his father died out as soon as a sharp, high pitched voice roared out above them, "WHERE IS HE, DIP-STICK?!"

The trio let out a collective, exasperated groan—Danny even face-palmed—as the rest of their entourage gasped with fright and looked skyward. Or, well, as skyward as they could manage in the Zone.

Jack looked up as well, eyes eager to study the new ecto-entity. She looked like a young, pale, teenage girl, and would have almost passed for human had it not been for the flaming blue pony-tail and glowing green eyes. He'd seen this ghost before, on the television... she was some sort of musician—obsessed with attention—and had crossed paths with Phantom in Amity Park several years ago. She hadn't been seen in quite a while however, and Jack had a sneaking suspicion this was the ghost Danny and his friends had mentioned earlier. His fingers rested cautiously on his gun... but he took his son's advice and held off.

"Hey Ember..." Danny mumbled, raising his head to meet the gaze of the angry, air-pacing ghost hovering several meters above their heads. A loud whir of a charging ecto-gun let him know that his mother had no doubt raised her weapon... but had yet to act. Maybe that meant she was waiting for some kind of instruction from him... maybe it meant she was waiting for the punk-rock ghost to make the first move... either way, Danny was relieved she hadn't opened fire yet. They were trusting him with this... that was extremely comforting. "Long time no see."

"Piss off."

"Ouch..." Danny raised a brow, bringing one hand to his heart like he'd been shot, "I know we haven't always seen eye to eye, but that was _hurtful._ "

Several eyes shifted toward Danny, including those of his parents. No one could believe he was actually goading the ghost.

"What did you do with him?!" Ember demanded, the cold blue flames of her hair flickering violently around her, "I don't have the time or want to deal with this bullshit right now, brat!"

"Why, what's going on?" Danny suddenly grew serious, ice blue eyes widening curiously.

" _You don't know?!"_

 _"_ Uh..."

"Tch... color me surprised. How long has it been since you were in the Zone?"

Danny's lips tightened shut, curiosity fading away to be replaced with a silent warning. He could practically feel the stares of his peers, teacher, and parents. They were eagerly listening in, and waiting for him to answer.

Ember smirked, eyes finally wandering to the group of humans that were surrounding him, almost as if she hadn't noticed them before. A few seconds passed, and she let out a low hum. She knew she was at an advantage now, "You brought _humans_ to the zone? That's rich! Planning some kinda party or something?"

"Ember..."

"Where's Skulker?"

"Haven't seen him. We were just sight-seeing."

"Bull-freaking-shit." Ember sneered, glowing green pools flashing dangerously, "No way in hell is it a coincidence that he up and vanishes right as you show up." She suddenly grew devious, cocking her head as she grinned with slightly sharpened teeth, "You look like shit, kid. How much do _they_ know?"

Danny took a sharp breath, any sense of jest completely gone. His eyes uncontrollably flashed green for a split-second, "Us being here is an accident, Ember. I'm trying to get them _out._ That's all."

"You're nowhere near the portal." Ember continued, her expression filled with antagonistic glee.

"I know that."

"So let's make a deal."

"No."

"You tell me where Skulker is..." Ember crossed her arms, "And I keep my mouth shut."

"No, Ember."

"I mean it." Her tone suddenly dropped, a slight edge to her voice that made the hair on the back of Danny's neck stand on end. She was nervous about something, and she really wouldn't keep playing this game for much longer. "Tell me where he is, and I _don't_ say way a word, and I leave your little human friends alone."

"How about you tell me what's going on in the Zone? Then I'll think about it." Danny asked again, stubbornly refusing to give her an answer. His hardened facade was beginning to crack however. He was grinding his teeth, and his voice quaked slightly. Most of his enemies knew to keep their mouths shut—it had become a sort of unspoken agreement—but she was walking a very thin line.

"Something big." Ember answered almost fearfully. "No one can figure out exactly what, but things are getting jacked up. A lot of the lesser ghosts are going nuts or scattering. I mean, shit, did you know Box Ghost's lair vanished? It just... imploded." She shuddered, "Nothing but dust and ectoplasm... It's all wrong! I bet even you can feel it."

Danny shifted uncomfortably. The conversation was quickly going in a direction Danny really didn't want to go with so many witnesses standing around. He sent Sam a knowing look and cocked his head toward her bag. She understood immediately, and stepped forward. "You want Skulker, Ember?"

The rock-ghost's attention snapped away from Danny and landed squarely on his goth girlfriend. Sam hand one hand in her bag, and slowly revealed the Fenton thermos that held their earlier catch.

She rattled it a bit before continuing, "Help us get out of here."

"Uh, no? You're the one's that are creepin' in our territory. I'd rather pound you into dust!" Ember growled, hair dancing wildly around her as she reached for her guitar, "Remember-"

She was suddenly catapulted from the air by an unseen force, crashing heavily against the ground not far from where the group was standing. After a small groan, she couldn't help but stammer, completely awestruck, "What the F-"

A deafening growl echoed, just as a disturbingly large, green monster materialized above the ghost. One fur covered paw pinned her to the ground, and sharp, slightly yellow teeth as thick as a grown man's arm gnashed inches from her startled face.

Thick, goopy strands of drool coated both her and the ground, and she let out a disgusted shriek, "Get of me you... you... mutt!"

"Cujo!" Danny's voice was laced with both shock and relief, "Ah, man, good boy!"

Large, piercing read eyes snapped up and toward the group, and like magic the ferocious snarl was replaced with a dopey, lolling purple tongue and wag of the tail. The ghost-dog let out an excited yip.

"Call him off!" Ember demanded breathlessly, "Get your damn dog off me, dip-stick!"

Danny snorted, "He's not my dog."

"OH. COME. ON!" Ember hissed, "My ass! You are so full of shit! Listen, I wasn't actually going to attack you, I swear!" She groaned as the gigantic dog above her applied more pressure, returning his snapping, barking maw inches above her face, "All I want is Skulker, ok? I just want to get the hell out of here! I'm tired of being dragged into all these freaking power struggles!"

"Power struggle?" Danny questioned, holding out one palm toward Sam. She nodded, and passed him the thermos.

"I mean, oophff..." Ember glared, smacking feebly against her canine captor, "That's what it's gotta be right? Isn't it always? Shit like... like this... only happens when someone is trying to... take over... or screw with the... It's always either Plasmius, or... or Pariah... or one of those other OP assholes! And for some God forsaken reason, _you_ always show up right when the shit hits the fan... I'm tired of it!" Another viscous strand of mucus splashed against her face and she gagged, "UGH, GET HIM OFF!"

"Fine." Danny wagged his brow triumphantly, "Cujo... Hey boy! Look at me! Wanna play a game? Let her go."

Cujo released his prey and backed away, plopping playfully on his haunches as he began to shrink to his natural form. Within seconds a small, excited puppy sat in place, tail patting left and right, thumping dully against the cold, dead ground.

Ember groaned with relief, though she remained where she was as she went intangible, effectively dispelling the disgusting coat of drool that had covered her head to toe.

"Cujo..." Danny jerked his head to the side, motioning to the open aired horizon of the Zone. He suddenly lobbed the thermos as hard as he could, "Keep away!"

Cujo barked several times excitedly before bounding off through the air, chasing what he seemed to accept as a run-away toy. He caught it within seconds, and bolted off in a random direction.

The look on Ember's face could only be described as horror. She took a deep breath and narrowed her eyes on the half-dead teenager in front of her, "You are so dead!"

"Sorry, Ember. I just really don't wanna have to deal with your creepy boyfriend again when you let him out." Danny apologized, "Cujo'll get bored eventually."

"Better hurry," Tucker cut in, "He's got one hell of a head start on you. Hey, before you go... can I get your autograph?"

"UGHHH!" Ember jumped up in a bright flash of angry energy, glowing harshly even in the strange light of the Ghost Zone, "I swear, you punks are dead next time I see you!"

And with that, she was gone, frantically chasing after the runaway ghost-dog.

Danny let out a strangled groan as he gripped tightly at his side with one hand, "Probably shouldn't have done that..." His shoulders slumped, "Ouch..." He took the opportunity to scan the shocked faces of his peers, one by one gauging just how confused and curious they were. Most were in a state of shock, mouths gaping and eyes wide.

Even his parents stared in stunned silence, his mother still gripping her gun tightly. She slowly sighed, and holstered the weapon, but her crimson goggled eyes never left his face.

Lancer had a weird look... like he couldn't quite decide how he was feeling or thinking. The man had definitively seen better days... his shirt was torn in places and he looked in desperate need of a shower. Dark bags had formed under his eyes, and Danny couldn't quite help but feel sorry for the portly English teacher. He was so far out of his depth he was practically drowning.

Finally his eyes met Valerie's, and he felt his heart skip a beat. She was curling and uncurling her fingers anxiously, a look of pure, unfiltered wrath flooding from her eyes. She twitched with the want to lash out—probably at him—and no doubt would have suited up had Paulina and Star not migrated toward her to huddle fearfully. Danny wondered if it was Val's strong, unfazed demeanor that caused them to latch on to her, or if they were just freaked out and eager for comfort. Either way, he was actually thankful they were there to keep her in check. He knew that in his current state, if there were a confrontation between him, and the Red Huntress... The Red Huntress would mop the floor with him.

A sharp stab of icy pain halted his thoughts, and he resisted the urge to double over and grip his chest. Cold energy built inside him, swirling dangerously, and he could almost _feel_ his skin on his chest ice over. He hastily turned away from the group and trudged on, shooting a desperate, pleading look toward his two best friends, "We... We have to go. Gotta get to Dora's."

He couldn't keep his voice from quivering, which seemed to awaken something in his mother. She stepped forward, "Danny? Are you ok?"

Danny took a deep breath and did his best to stand up straight, but couldn't keep the wince from his face as he did so. Thankfully, he wasn't facing her and the only two that could actually see his pain were Sam and Tucker, "Ugh, yeah. Just tired, mom... and my side hurts. I... I wanna get to Dora's. We can rest up, and maybe find out what's actually going on."

"Danny, what was that ghost saying about you always being in the middle of things?" Maddie inquired, "She was awfully familiar with you. How many times has she attacked you...? What did she mean when-"

"What about that dog?" Jack's suddenly added, though his question seemed slightly more excited and almost childlike, "She said it was _yours?_ " He paused, "It expanded it's size... I wonder if it's power-level is relevant to-"

"Cujo." Danny interrupted, hoping to steer the conversation to something more benign that what his mother had in mind, "He's not my dog, but he likes me. He's gotten me in and out of a jam or two..." A small smile crept to his face, "He's a good dog. He just wants to play."

"Danny..." Maddie pressed, but Jack placed a firm hand on her shoulder and shook his head.

He nodded toward their son, and the two shared a look of concern. Danny was doing everything in his power to avoid them, and the way he slumped slightly indicated that he was still in pain.

Jack sighed, knowing that they wouldn't be able to get anything from him until they were somewhere _he_ deemed safe. Not that _that_ made him feel any better about any of this: they were his parents... _they_ should be taking care of _him_.

But it wasn't like they knew what they were doing anymore, and they couldn't very well stay where they were. Their were too many people in danger now to be foolhardy.

"Ok... ok, we're actually almost there." Danny could feel the pain from his core lighten, though with the fading power went his strength. He felt even more tired now, and every muscle ached for sleep. He could only hope that the rest of the way would be without incident.  
***

"What do you mean it's not working?" Frostbite's roar echoed throughout the icy hall, his teeth clenched in an agitated snarl, "Impossible!"

"I'm sorry, Lord Frostbite... but no matter what we try, it remains dormant." A young female Yeti replied. She was thinner, more agile looking that the majority of her brethren, and was donned in traditional warriors garb. Wringing her hands nervously, she explained, "I suspect that the irregularities in the Ghost Zone are to blame."

Narrowing his eyes, the leader of the Far Frozen all but shoved his way past his subordinate, far more roughly than intended. Luckily, she took no offense... after all, every citizen of the Far Frozen was anxious for the Great One's safety; none more than Frostbite.

Using his translucent hand, he heaved open the door to the heavily guarded chamber, then stomped his way inside. In front of him hovered one of the ancient artifacts his people had devoted themselves to protect: The Infi-Map.

He gently brushed his claws across it's surface and grew grim when it remained empty. Usually it took very little prompting to get the map to reveal it's secrets... he had, after all, had centuries of practice with it.

Growing impatient, he wrapped his fingers around the edge of the scroll, and demanded, "Take me to the Great One!"

The Yeti behind him held her breath for several seconds, hopeful that the more experienced leader would be able to illicit some reaction. When nothing happened, she sighed wistfully.

This only seemed to agitate Frostbite further, and he clenched his grip tighter, "Take me to Phantom!" Still no reaction came from the map, "To Daniel Fenton!"

Frostbite knew it was a long-shot. The map was tricky... sometimes it seemed to have a mind of it's own, and it could have very well lead him somewhere he did not expect. Still, he had assumed that at least _he_ would be able to use it to find his young friend and savior.

Another thought suddenly struck him... one he did not want to admit. What if the Great One had been killed? Or worse? What if this meant there was no Daniel Fenton—No Phantom—to lead him to?

Without skipping a beat he tried, "To Pandora?"

Nothing. Not even a ripple of an image on it's surface. At least that could be taken as a sign of hope.

A rumbling growl broke from his throat and he released the map, bringing his hand up to ruffle the fur of his face. He took a few seconds to calm himself before turning to his companion, "I apologize for my outburst, Celsius. I am simply concerned for the Great One's well being. We must find him at all costs."

"Of course!" She replied, eagerly taking one knee, "Lord Frostbite, there is not a Yeti here who wishes for anything more!"

Frostbite hummed in response, and placed a gentle palm on her shoulder, "Indeed. Send out more scouts. Lead a team yourself, make your way toward Lady Dora's kingdom. She is aware of the situation... Keep your wits and eyes sharpened, in case he is somewhere between here and there. Do not hesitate to investigate _anything_ out of place. I will once again contact our allies..." He removed his hand as she rose, and rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "We are all in grave danger, and I feel as though the Great One will once again be tested... None of this is coincidence... though, I suppose we don't even know if he truly is in the Zone. None-the-less, we must be adamant. Especially if there are other human children involved."

"Yes sire." Celsius gave a warriors salute, and scrambled from the room to gather further troops. A direct mission like this from their leader was a privilege, and it would be her honor to search for the Great One.

Once she was well on her way, Frostbite let out a quiet sigh. He knew better than anyone that this could very well be like finding a needle in a haystack. They weren't called the infinite realms for nothing.  
The only bright side he had was that certain places in the human world sometimes corresponded with places in the Ghost Zone, despite it's ever changing nature. This park that Danny's sister had spoken of... perhaps if they _were_ somehow transported to the Zone from there, it meant they were at least In familiar territory.

Or, at least he hoped so anyway.  
***

It was a gamble... Vlad knew that. But he was not one to take risk without the opportunity for vast reward. He just had to remain self-assured, and in command. He couldn't let them sense his lack of control. He'd worked very hard to gather the few pawns he had managed... and one sign of weakness would make them realize that if they banded together, they could very well be able to take him down.

He couldn't have that now, could he?

Luckily his pawns hadn't arrived yet. He just needed a moment to breath, a moment to gather himself and his wits. His little excursion to spy on the ringmaster and his master had taken more out of him than expected.

Ever since the Disastroid debacle, his powers had become somewhat... unstable. The insufferable pulses that made their way through the Ghost Zone as of late only served to make it worse, and the most recent one had him standing in Pariah Dark's old throne room, one hand pathetically pressed to his currently human chest, the other supporting his weight against an ancient table of sorts.

His body flickered between forms, and he scowled at himself, "None of that now, thank you very much!"

With a bit of effort he found himself regaining his hold, and allowed himself a small sigh of relief. Flexing his fingers, he straightened his back and stretched. He relaxed, reaching internally to stroke the ever present warmth of his ghostly core, delighted when it surged with familiar, violent power. He willed his transformation to ghost form just as the doors to the chamber swung open, and spinning on his heel to face his guest he expertly bore a mask of complete confidence, "Have you found him?"

Fright Knight bowed, the ethereal purple flames that normally surged from under his helmet dimming slightly, "Not yet, Sire, but it is only a matter of time."

"You do realize that time is of the essence, don't you?"

"Yes, of course I do."

"Then what is taking so long!" Vlad allowed his form to glow brightly, sparking pink ectoplasm burning harshly between his fingers, "That fool, Freakshow, had no idea what he was doing—no idea what hes put into motion—but it's given us a unique opportunity. If he truly did plant a shard... it could lead us straight to the Catalyst. I WILL have that power, one way or another. Do you understand, my dear medieval friend?"

Vlad was not oblivious to the way the Fright Knight shuddered at the mention of the Catalyst. There was so very little known about the artifact itself, yet it's very name seemed to stop the more ancient ghosts in their tracks. It was as if they both revered and feared the thing.

'Fools...' Vlad thought inwardly, 'It's merely a tool. A tool that I have no qualms about putting to very good use.' He planted an imposing, sharp toothed smile across his face, "And those who help me get that power, will be greatly rewarded. Imagine what _you_ could do with just a fraction of it... I keep my promises, Fright Knight."

"We will resume our search, right away. As we speak, several of our allies are...infiltrating... Walker's prison, and we are prepping our march on Princess Dorathea's castle, as well as Pandora's Parthenon. We will cause the chaos you desire, _and_ flush him out of hiding."

Vlad smirked, "Pandora, you say? Oh, How I do favor the bold!" He knew that there was little chance of success in that endeavor, but even in failure they would at least be able to confirm whether Daniel was there or not.

Though, he didn't know _much_ about Dorathea, other than she'd gained significant standing and power the past few years, her lair expanding impressively. Still, she would be an easier target than the Greek myth.

Searching for Daniel, scaring up the hornets nest, and wiping out potential threats all at once? Perfect.  
***

It had been a few more hours, and Danny was practically falling asleep as they walked. They had been forced to take a minor detour to avoid the prison and some of Walkers patrolling guards, and another when the drifting landmasses gave them no other option.

There had been another pulse as well, which had all but knocked him off his feet. Thankfully he was a short distance ahead of the rest of the group, and he was able to play it off like he had tripped. Sam and Tucker had steadied him, making up dumb, probably unbelievable excuses of their own. In all honesty, he didn't really remember what those excuses were... his brain was just on autopilot at this point.

Now Tucker and Danny found themselves standing on the edge of a purple stoned cliff, overlooking the vast nothingness that spread out before them. They were stuck... their path had run out, and their only options were to wait and see if they'd be lucky enough for a new path to form, or to teach everyone how to take advantage of the Zone's strange, 'suggestion' of gravity and teach the rest of the group how to float.

That was something Danny really didn't want to do... He wasn't even really sure he could. His own power of flight came naturally, it was a basic that _all_ ghosts could do as long as they had the energy to power it, regardless of what world they were in. Tucker and Sam had practice over the years of traversing the Zone, but even they were still shaky at it, and far preferred the Specter Speeder. It tired them out quickly, and they'd learned just how easy it was for humans to experience extreme vertigo in the swirling misty openness... as well as the fact that it took so much concentration that he seriously doubted some of the more air-headed of his classmates would be able to handle it.

He was weary about teaching them they could go intangible to an extent for similar reasons... what if Dash tried to show off, and in an attempt to phase through a rock got stuck? Going intangible didn't make the matter around you disappear after all... Dash was one-hundred percent human. That would instantly kill him.

Tucker let out a lengthy, tired sigh, "I know I can't see much, but from what I _have_ been able to make out, we're close. "

"Yeah... An hour, two tops... if we had a path." Danny confirmed, scanning the distance In hopes of catching sight of their favored destination. The air in the Ghost Zone was thicker than normal however, and even his superior eyesight couldn't make out any defining features, "If It were just us three, and I wasn't so useless... ten minutes."

The rest of the group was positioned some distance away, and had decided to rest, giving Maddie and Sam time to drift from person to person, making sure they were holding up alright. There was a small alcove of sorts a short distance away, their classmates were seated in a circle, resting their weary feet. Tucker had two bottles of water in his bag from the picnic, and they had passed them around with abandon, everyone taking a few sips despite their protests about germs.

It did little to appease their hunger, but Danny hoped that Dora would be able to help with that. Even the friendly ghosts that didn't usually eat had taken to keeping various dried and non-perishable foods on hand in case of the trio's visits. Dora was always excited and willing, and had built up a substantial pantry for them.

Tucker rubbed his temples and took a quick glance around to make sure they didn't have any straggling eavesdroppers before asking, "How you holding up?"

Danny stayed quiet for a moment and gave a shrug.

"Not an answer, dude."

The halfa sighed, running a shaky hand through his hair, "Honestly? I'm kinda not. Even if we had a path, I don't think I'd make it before passing out... Everything hurts, Tuck."

"Your core?"

Danny hummed quietly, "That, and everything else..." He grew somber, turning his normally vibrant blue eyes toward his long time best friend. Now they seemed dull, and fearful. It was a hard sight to take in for Tucker, who wished he could do something to help his overwhelmed, overworked friend.

"What did Freakshow do to me?"

Tucker closed his eyes and frowned. Though it was subtle, Danny's frame of mind had been shifting between strong, and determined, to uneasy and aloof ever since they'd woken up and found themselves in the Zone. Granted, his friend was often moody and anxious with everything he had to deal with on a day to day basis...

But not like this. If everything had gone to plan... had he and Sam actually been able to keep him out of trouble, then spirit Danny away for a few weeks of relaxing on a private beach with nothing to do but enjoy some drinks and goof off, it would have done wonders for the half-ghosts disposition. It would have breathed new life into him, so to speak.

Now it just seemed like he was bordering on unstable, and Tucker suspected that Freakshow and the Ghost Zone's current state were to blame. Having all of his least favorite people in tow only made it worse.

"I wish I knew..." Tucker finally answered, "Man, I promise... We're gonna figure it out. Then that gothic asshole'll have hell to pay for screwing with my best friend."

Danny's mood shifted, and his eyes suddenly flashed bright green as he clenched his fists angrily, "I'm going to kick his ass."

Tucker took a sharp breath, placing one arm around his friend's shoulders in both a show of support, and an attempt to make sure no one could see exactly what was going on, "Oh, no doubt. We are totally going to flatten him for this..." He chuckled, "Especially Sam. She's going to make him eat combat boot. But... you might wanna cool your jets for now. Take a second to breath..."

Danny blinked curiously, "What?"

"You've got a bit of a light-show going on, buddy."

"Wha... oh! Oh, man..." The half-dead teenager blinked his eyes almost comically a few times before closing them completely and cocking his head like he had water in his ears. After a few seconds his eyelids fluttered open, and the green bled way to natural blue, "Ugh... I haven't felt this helpless since freshman year."

Tucker frowned, pulling away, "Dude, we're gonna fix this."

"Yeah, I-" Danny cut his sentence short and grew still, focusing on something in the distance.

"What's wrong?"

"Shhh..."

The techno-geek raised a brow but remained silent, and after just a few moments began to notice a strange, rumbling sound in the distance, "Is that...?"

"Mmmhmm." Danny nodded, "Sounds like it."

The noise bounded their way from quite a distance, but was utterly unmistakable. It didn't take long before it's source came into view. Johnny 13, and his precious motorcycle, speeding by in a wide, sweeping arch with abandon.

At first he didn't seem notice them. Then he slowed, and veered in their direction. As he approached, Danny's ghost sense bubbled up from within, and he let out a cold, wispy breath. Taking a moment to glance back at the rest of the group, he saw that they had also heard the racket and were now staring in fear at the ghost zooming in on their position.

Maddie and Jack both jumped to their feet and made to draw their weapons, but Sam managed to catch them in time. She said something Danny couldn't quite make out and held up her hands, which seemed to placate them slightly. They remained standing, but didn't move further. Sam shot him a knowing look, then turned back to mutter something else to his parents and class.

Danny did his best to flash them a reassuring smile before turning back to the unlucky ghost. Johnny had slowed and come to a stop a few feet away at eye level. He lowered his kickstand despite the lack of ground underneath him, then leaned forward on his handlebars and raised a brow, jerking his head toward the gaggle of humans behind them, "That's not something you see everyday, huh?"

"Hey," Danny sighed, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand. In all honesty, of all the ghosts that could have shown up, Johnny 13 was actually a somewhat welcome sight. Over the years they'd formed a type of indifferent to friendly stance toward one another. The biker ghost didn't do too much to terrorize the town, sometimes showing up just to drive around and cause minor, insignificant mischief. He liked to tell Danny it was all just to 'Keep him on his toes.'

Shadow was a problem sometimes, but again, nothing too significant in the grand scheme of things. Johnny kept him in check, and even seemed apologetic at times when things got out of hand... though he'd _never_ admit it, of course.

"No Kitty today?" Tucker asked casually, "Let me guess... lovers quarrel?"

"As if." Johnny gave an annoyed snort in the techno-geek's direction, scratching absentmindedly at his chin, "On my way to her now, actually... or I was, until I saw you dweebs. Humans. In the Zone. Really?" He smirked, "Had to come take a look for myself. What's with the entourage, Phantom?"

Danny hissed, hushing the ghost with a raised palms and an, angry look, "Phantom's not here right now."

Johnny looked confused for a moment before looking back over Danny's shoulder and realizing just _who_ was standing there. He almost couldn't keep his amusement in check when he practically squealed, "Dude, those are your parents!"

"No shit Sherlock!" Danny groaned, stealing another worried look to make sure they hadn't been overheard. Luckily, Johnny hadn't been speaking very loudly, "So I'd appreciate it if you'd kindly keep your voice down, and stick to _Danny."_

 _"_ _Heh_. How about twerp?"

"Fine. Don't care."

"So, not only do you look like you tangled with a lawnmower, you're in a mood too. I'll keep that in mind. Seriously though, what's going on? You look like your about to keel over and make your stay In the Zone permanent. Not that I have anything against new neighbors... but with all the jacked up shit going on, I'd rather it not be you. You're bad luck... no offense."

Danny chuckled darkly, "Tell me about it... You know. Nothing too out ordinary..." He sighed, "Getting jumped by Freakshow, playing tour guide, fighting off Skulker, dealing with Ember... trying to get my parents and classmates somewhere safe, then out..."

"Sounds like a long day." The full ghost licked his lips nervously "As interesting as that all is, I'm gonna fly. Things have been so messed up around here..."

"I've heard."

"I just saw you, and thought I'd let you know..." He paused, an uncharacteristically serious look overtaking his features, "I was just enjoying my stay at Walker's all inclusive hotel, when a bunch of Fright Knight's goons just freaking busted up the place."

"What?"

"Yeah, I mean, I wasn't about complain, since ya know..." He shrugged, "But dude, I think they were looking for, er... you."

"Wait... WHAT?"

"Yeah. They didn't stick around long, but I swear they were hollering somethin' about finding ya."

"Well, that's just great. Really. Really. Great." Danny began to pace nervously, his emotions on overdrive, "What did they want?"

"No freaking clue, man. Just heard your name come up."

"Ok then. I guess that's just another thing to add to the 'universe decides to screw Danny' pile today." He jerked one hand expressively, only to instantly regret it when his side protested painfully at the jagged motion. Without realizing it, he let out a small yelp followed by a grimace and brought his arms up to cradle his abdomen, "Dammit... I really can't deal with... this right now."

"Whoa... are you ok?" Johnny asked, leaning even more forward on his bike, one hand loosely dangling from the bars. His tone had a hint of genuine concern, which all but went unnoticed by the currently panicking half-ghost.

"Ugh, NO! YES!" Danny groaned, clenching his eyes shut and taking a deep breath in an attempt to ignore the throbbing ache that played drums against his rib-cage, "I'll be fine."

"If you say so... I'm off. I did my good deed for the day, so go easy on me next time we're in town."

Danny began to wave him off dismissively, just as the ghost started his bike and revved the engine. A sudden idea struck him, and he lunged forward to grab the handlebars, much to the bewilderment of the rider.

"Oh, not cool. I should pound you just for thinking of touching my baby like that..." Johnny yelled over the sound of the roaring engine, and swatted Danny's fingers away, "But I ain't about to attack no cripple."

"You owe me a favor, Johnny." The half-ghost loudly replied, "For helping you with that thing with Kitty, remember?"

"Ain't like I'm gonna be able to give you _all_ a ride or nothin' so what do you want?"

"Take Tucker to Dora's."

"What!?" Both Tucker and Johnny barked in unison.

"Please. Tucker, you can give her a heads up and maybe get her to send a bit of help."

"You're serious?" Johnny almost laughed, "No."

"Ok then, next time I see Kitty, I'll tell her about your little stint with that human girl last-"

"Ah ah, drop it. Ok, you know what? Fine. Whatever. Play dirty if you want to. She's like a five minute ride... no skin off my teeth." He jerked his head toward the techno-geek, and rolled his eyes, "Get on, nerd."

"Are you sure?" Tucker placed a steady hand on Danny's shoulder and asked, "Because-"

"Burnin' daylight boys. Get. On."

"Just go, Tuck." Danny sighed, "We're stuck, and I don't know how much longer I can stay on my feet. You got a wrist-ray, don't you?"

"Yeah... Yeah, in my pocket." Tucker frowned, patting one of the many pouches on his cargo pants. With a defeated whine, he mounted the bike without further argument, "Ok then. I got this. I'll send help."

"Thanks..." Danny winced as he returned his hand to his side, "We'll wait a while longer, and hopefully see you in a bit."

"Later, twerp." Johnny gave a lazy salute and opened up the throttle. The last thing Tucker did was let out a childish scream as the ghost sped away.

* * *

 **Authors note:** Alright guys, with that, I'm out. Hope it wasn't boring, and you all enjoyed it. Leave a review, and remember, I'm always open to constructive crit.


	6. Chapter 6

**Authors notes:** Hello all! Hope everything's been good for all of you! I've been dealing with computer issues unfortunately, so updates on both my stories are slower than I want them to be due to having to write the chapters at work during my free time.

Thank you so much to all those who reviewed. Seriously, I really appreciate it, as the reviews keep me going! Shout-out to neeniya for pointing out that I haven't done much with the nerds... hope I make up for it in this chapter.

There's a lot of characters to juggle, and I do worry that I'm not handling that well, so it's comforting to know that you guys think I'm doing them justice.

Some of you have mentioned that you like my take on Jack. I'm glad. I really wanted to give him a more well rounded personality while still staying true to the character, especially since a lot of people seem to go the other route and focus more on Maddie and her relationship with Danny/Phantom. She's always depicted as the calmer, more accepting one... I like to think that she might be a little vain, and when her children are involved, over protective mom mode might get in the way common sense at times. Jack on the other hand, might be more apt to be the opposite. He's more likely admit that he's wrong, and force himself to listen. Especially after some of the things that happen throughout the show.

I also tend to get turned off of stories when they make the Fenton's TOO antagonistic without cause. When they're shown with no remorse or reason to be acting they way they do... it really rubs me the wrong way. Do they hate ghosts, and are they likely to overreact? Yes. Do they love and trust their son? Yes. I think its an important balance that needs to be made. They're human, and they make mistakes of course (Sometimes very awful ones!) but they're the type of people who'd learn from those mistakes once they finally see the truth I think.

My other pet peeve is when Danny is portrayed as indestructible, or an expert on all things ghost... especially when he's still young. He's learning everything along the way, and even though he's cocky and brave, he's not all powerful.

At least that's just my opinion on things. If you guys have any constructive criticism for me, I'm always open to it!

* * *

Chapter Six

Jazz stared somberly at the torn up, empty wasteland that used to be the largest park in the city. It was still blocked off, so she sat at a little café across the street sipping the strongest coffee she'd ever tasted. It was way too bitter, and it burned the roof of her mouth and tongue, but she hardly paid any attention… she was on a mission.

The GIW had been dealing with the disgruntled citizens all day, but now it was just past midnight and things had started to finally calm down. As such, only two guards were left patrolling the perimeter, and they were doing a fairly piss poor job of it at that. If everything went according to plan, she shouldn't have any problem sneaking by them at all.

She took a second to look around at the other patrons surrounding her, or rather lack thereof. The place was one of those twenty-four hour, 'hole in the wall' type establishments… a bit dirty and run down, but popular with students and outcasts because it'd been around forever and was cheap. It remained open despite the commotion across the street, which was simply common place in Amity Park. Businesses just didn't close down due to nearby ghost attacks, building damage or otherwise strange occurrences… it all happened way too often, and they'd never make a profit.

As it was, there was only one other patron present. He was a middle aged man, dark skin and peppering hair. He was facing away from her, shoulders hunched over the counter as he picked at a bread roll of some kind that he wasn't actually eating. The way he smelled as she passed had her assuming that he was probably drunk or hungover.

She turned away and sighed, dragging her fingers across the window in front of her. It must have been cracked during the explosion. It had a long, jagged fracture that looked like lightning zig-zagging its way down the center, and the owners had only stopped to cover it with clear packaging tape to keep it from further crumbling. She couldn't help but think that whatever happened in the park must have been extremely violent… Even when part of the town had been shifted to the Ghost Zone during the Pariah Dark incident, there hadn't been this much chaos in the aftermath.

One last gulp and her coffee was gone, leaving a thick, rough aftertaste in her mouth. She placed a few dollars for tip on the table, then shuffled away and out the door.

It was unnaturally cold night for being smack dab in the middle of summer, and something about the chill made her skin crawl. It didn't feel like a normal breeze… it felt thick. Pair that along with the slight, ever present sulfuric smell of ectoplasm, and the way the air seemed almost heavy and damp… it all reeked of trouble.

She hurdled herself over the small, tapped off barricade and ducked down behind a large chunk of what she could only assume was the old fountain. The GIW guards were both walking in opposite directions, neither really looking _into_ the park, instead focusing their attention on the streets surrounding them. It made it easier for Jazz to weave her way through the debris around the outer rim and into the darker, more eroded center of the park.

Her eyes were glued to the ground, looking for any clues to what actually happened. The way the dirt and stone were heaved was really weird, and almost seemed to play tricks on her eyes. Eventually she realized that the upturned grooves were getting smaller toward what she assumed to be the center of the explosion—like the rings of a tree.

As she quietly made her way forward she started noticing small pools of condensation gathering in the divots, and upon closer inspection she discovered they were somewhat oily and green. In the darkness she could see the faint, glowing specks of ectoplasm, and she quickly removed a few vials she'd stolen from her parent's lab to scoop up some samples. How the GIW had missed them, she didn't really know. Maybe there was just too much of it for them to collect it all, or it simply went unnoticed until it got dark.

Not that it mattered… she didn't want them getting their hands on it anyway. She might not know exactly what to do with the samples at the time being, but she was determined to collect any evidence that might help her find her family.

Slowly but surely she found herself at what could only be described as the epicenter. The way the ground scarred was deep and hard to traverse, and there were broken, sharp chunks of uprooted trees and stone littering her path. After a bit of silent consideration—she carefully tried to picture the undamaged park in her mind—she realized that she was near what used to be the tree-line… right near the old shade tree Danny and his friends liked so much. No doubt this is where they were when trouble broke out.

She shivered. It was cold here, even more-so than at the outer edges of the park, and the ground had a thin sheen of frost. The air surrounding her felt oddly familiar… it took a few minutes for her to piece together why.

"Oh, God, Danny…." She knelt, and dragged a few fingers across through the frost, her other hand gripping the vials she'd collected even tighter.

The chill felt exactly like what happened when Danny's core was overly active, only vastly multiplied. Her gut told her this was _his_ energy in the air, and probably his ectoplasm in the vials. It made her stomach churn.

She numbly shifted her gaze side to side for a few seconds before she noticed a small glint out of the corner of her eye. It snapped her out of her daze, and she half shuffled, half crawled toward the object in question. Whatever it was, it was partially buried, and she clawed hastily at the dirt to uncover it.

A broken nail and several seconds later she found herself staring at an odd, gold fork of sorts. It was eerily cold to the touch, and almost seemed to hum with energy. Two pointy prods extended outward, and she absentmindedly thumbed one to test just how sharp it was…

"Jasmine?" A heavy hand planted itself on her shoulder.

The sudden voice startled her, and she spun on her heel and brought her arms up to bat away at her attacker. There was no way she was going to let some scumbag GIW—

"Whoa, hey now!" The man that towered above her pulled his hands away and held them up—palms forward—in a gesture of peace. He quickly whispered, "I thought that was you in the café."

Jazz narrowed her eyes defensively before recognition set in, "Wait... Mr. Gray?"

Damon flashed a small, reassuring smile. His eyes were somewhat glassy, and she could smell the faint waft of booze in the air surrounding him, "Yeah... what are you doing here?"

"What are _you_ doing here?"

"My baby girl disappeared. I'm here looking for answers. The GIW won't release any information, and I'm not sitting around twiddling my thumbs."

"My whole family was here when…" Jazz sighed, "I guess I'm pretty much doing the same thing."

"Find anything?" Damon questioned, eyeing the metal prod in her hands. He suddenly frowned and pointed out, "You're bleeding."

Jazz scrunched her nose in confusion and looked down at her hands. A thin stream of warm, red blood was seeping down her thumb and dripping to the ground below. She realized she must have pricked herself pretty hard when Mr. Gray grabbed her shoulder. "Crap!"

"Are you al—" The older man began to ask, only to be silenced abruptly by a shout in the distance.

"Halt! Remain where you are! You're trespassing in a restricted area!"

Both Jazz and Damon gave each other a determined nod, and he grabbed her by the elbow to help hoist her to her feet. Together they booked it in the opposite direction of the now approaching GIW agents, away and into the darkness beyond.  
***

"I still can't believe we have to depend on _that_ four-eyed geek to get us out of this." Dash mocked, echoing several already voiced complaints from the rest of his classmates.

Of course, his parents and Lancer had vocally objected to Tucker going off on his own as well—and *gasp* with a ghost no less—and now Danny was reaching his wits end. No matter how many times he explained that Tucker was fine, and Johnny wasn't going to hurt him, they refused to stop and listen. His emotions were in overdrive, and he was uncharacteristically irritable.

"Danny, Sweetie, we just think it was irresponsible!" Maddie tried to reason with her son.

The half-ghost cut her off with a sharp wave of his hand and a near growl, "Ok, you know what? You guys don't get to talk about what you _think_ when you aren't even paying enough attention to realize that you actually _know_ Johnny. I can't believe you didn't recognize him."

"What?" Maddie looked confused, and turned a questioning look toward her husband. He looked just as puzzled, and returned with a broad shouldered shrug, "Danny, what are you talking about? We don't know any ghosts..."

"I mean, that's not a surprise I guess, considering who _else_ you don't ever recognize..." Danny mumbled just under his breath, and rubbed his eyes, "Tucker is more than capable. He's bagged and tagged more ghosts than _you_ have." He focused his ire toward his classmates next, "And I'm so done. I don't care what any of _you_ think. Tucker isn't just a _nerd._ He's doing what he can to save your asses, and all you do is bitch and moan! Seriously, after everything _we_ do, I can't believe how _stupid-_ "

Sam grew alarmed at how loose lipped her boyfriend had suddenly become, and noticed the slight uneven sway to his steps. She hastily wrapped an arm around his, then frowned when she felt the tingle of raw, cold energy bubbling up just under his skin, "Danny…"

He snapped his glare toward her and hissed, eyes tinting slightly with a faint green glow, " _What_!?"

"Ok, nope." Sam grew annoyed at his snippy response, and pushed heavily with her palm to force him to sit. He stumbled back and onto his rump, with a surprised ' _oomph_ ' as She placed both her hands on her hips and stared down on him, "I think it's time you sit down and _relax_."

It took a few tense moments for Danny to come to his senses. The anger melted away to an expression that was far more humble, "Oh jeeze… I'm sorry Sam."

"I always knew Fenton was completely whipped," This time it was Paulina that barked loudly, "Of course, considering how scary his girlfriend is…"

Danny almost lost his cool. He probably would have had Sam not plopped down next to him and wrapped his fingers in her own. She gave a light squeeze, shifted her cold, amethyst eyes toward the Latino teenager, and replied calmly, "Funny. It's a mystery, considering how scary I am, that I've managed to keep an incredible, loyal guy while you've been passed around more than the flu."

You could hear a pin drop in the awkward silence that followed. Danny had to stop himself from choking on his own spit, while the A-listers looked both baffled. Mikey and Nathan looked terrified, while Valerie just snickered under her breath. The Fentons, unfamiliar with Paulina's usual attitude, gaped somewhat at catty exchange. They'd never heard Sam speak that way before.

"Miss Manson! That's incredibly inappropriate—" Lancer scolded, though he didn't get to finish. He was once again dismissed and ignored by his students.

Paulina had shoved herself to her feet and was practically steaming from the ears as she stomped forward, "What did you say?"

"Oh Paulina… you're stupid, not deaf." Sam sighed, but remained relatively indifferent and seated. Her posture and tone made it crystal clear that she wasn't intimidated by the preppy cheerleader in the least, "Or maybe you just didn't understand me. I'll make it simple, so even you can follow..."

Danny suddenly tensed, feeling a familiar tug at his core. The cold, wispy energy was building up, and he hastily buried his head in his arms and knees as he gave a slight shiver; doing his best to hide his ghost sense as it materialized from his breath. He quietly whispered to himself, "Please let that be Dora..."

"You. Are. A. Who—" Sam's insult was swallowed by a loud, booming roar that even caught her off guard. She jerked back just as Paulina let out an ear-splitting shriek, hastily scampering away.

Several humanoid ghosts flew up around their platform from somewhere below, followed closely by the beat of massive, awe inspiring wings. Attached to those wings, of course, was an equally impressive, blue scaled dragon.

"Oh thank God!" Danny loudly proclaimed, lying flat on his back to look up at the new arrivals. His side was burning, and everything else felt heavy. He didn't actually think he'd be able to fight back if it had been an unfriendly, "Finally..."

He heard his classmates gasp and shuffle back. He could have sworn that Dash let out a humorously high pitched whimper, and Danny would have sold his left kidney for the opportunity to catch it on video.

Unfortunately he knew that despite the fact that he couldn't currently see his parents, they must be panicking. Before they could overreact, he raised on hand and waved it lazily, shouting over the rushing noise of the now landing dragon's fluttering wings, "Mom, Dad... let me introduce you to Princess—"

"DORA!" Sam exclaimed excitedly, rushing forward to wrap her arms around the giant beast's maw as best she could, "It's been way, way too long!"

"Dorathea..." Danny's voice died out into a light chuckle, and his arm fell back to his side. Now that things seemed to be turning around for the better, his body was settling into it's exhaustion. He really didn't feel like moving at all.

The dragon let out a low, friendly growl and grinned wide, sporting a mouth full of needle like teeth. She carefully brought up one clawed hand to gently pat the teenage girl on the back.

Tucker's face peaked around from his perch on her neck, and he smiled warmly, "There's never any love for the messenger. Who do you think _brought_ the cavalry?"

"Oh, Please." Sam rolled her eyes as she stepped away and gave him room to slide down. Despite her teasing tone, she gave his shoulder a love tap, "Don't get cocky."

"This is your… _friend_?" Maddies voice was dry and cracking, and both Sam and Tucker stopped their playful banter to look to her direction.

Danny had heard her uncertainty as well, and tilted his head to the side in an effort to bring his parents into view. He could see the strain on their faces, and the way they both fought every urge they had to draw their weapons. Slowly, and with great effort, the half-dead teen pushed to a seated position and wrapped his arms around his abdomen with a wince.

The dragon seemed to notice his pain, and cocked her head to the side. It made to move in his direction...

Only to stop in her tracks when she heard the whirl of a charging ecto-weapon. She turned her angular head in the offending direction to meet Maddie's strong as steel glare. She had her gun aimed directly at Dora's head.

"Maddie!" Jack looked somewhat shocked, and made an attempt to stop his wife. She ducked away from him and kept her target in sight.

"Mom!" Danny also objected, and feebly tried to stand. He groaned as he stumbled back down, "What are you doing?"

"Don't you hurt my son!"

"Are you serious?" Danny groaned, throwing his hands to the air, "Jesus Christ, mom!"

Dora's reptilian face was impressively expressive as she raised a brow and let out a rumbling chuckle. She shifted her weight to her back legs and took an upright position, just as the amulet around her neck began to glow. He form began to shrink and morph, taking a far more familiar and much less intimidating shape.

Within just a few seconds she stood, now humanoid, donning her typical, medieval blue dress and headband. A long, golden braid of hair contrasted against her bright green skin and glowing, blood red irises. She cleared her throat and spoke softly, voice echoing in a way that only a ghost's could, "Why would I hurt one of my most powerful allies, and dearest friend?"

Jack stood in a stupor for a moment as he stared at the shape-shifting ecto-entity before him. After a few seconds he seemed to snap out of it, blinking numerous times before urgently grabbing his wife's wrist and encouraging her to lower her weapon, "Come on, Mads... We promised Danny."

"It is an honor to finally meet Sir Pha—"

Danny coughed loudly and hitched his breath, while Sam rushed forward to wrap her arm around the ghost Princess's shoulder in a seemingly playful way, giving her undead friend a bit of a squeeze.

Dora let out a small gasp and covered her mouth with her fingers as she suddenly realized her almost catastrophic mistake, and did her best to cover it up with a small coughing fit of her own, "Eh, excuse me, _Sir Fenton's_ most esteemed parents."

Danny let out a shaky exhale, and shifted his eyes back to his parents. His mother didn't really look completely convinced, but his dad had somehow managed to pull her weapon away and place it back in her belt.

Jack shifted his head and met his son's gaze. He wore a stoic, but stern expression that suggested that he was less than comfortable as well. At least he seemed to be willing to try however, and Danny gave him an appreciative nod, "Thanks dad."

"Sir Tucker tells me these are your human schoolmates?" Dora tried to shift the attention to the obviously fearful mass of students that were huddled together in small groups behind the Fentons, "Forgive me for startling you all, but it would be far easier for me to carry multiple people in my other form.

"You're going to carry us?" Surprisingly, it was Mikey who spoke up, "Like, riding on your back?"

There was a hint of awe in his voice, and a small spark of childlike excitement in his eyes.

Team Phantom shared an amused look... they knew exactly why he was so interested. He was a gamer, and a high fantasy fan, after all. The opportunity to ride on a dragon was pretty much a D&D pipe dream for most enthusiasts like him... it certainly fueled him with a bit of bravery as he took a deep breath and stepped forward.

Nathan seemed to catch on as well, and together they broke away from the rest of the students, "That... could actually be pretty cool."

Dora seemed confused by their enthusiastic curiosity, but wasn't at all offended, "Well, I could not carry _all_ of you. That is why I brought a few of my trusted knights and handmaidens. They will escort those I can not. My kingdom is quite close by flight, and would be far safer than remaining here. Plus, I have several stewards preparing a small offering of human food for your arrival."

One by one the rest of the class began to come around, their pale, fear stricken faces brightening at the notion actually getting a meal. Oddly enough, it was Lancer who thought to ask, "Why would you have normal food?"

Dora smiled as gently as she could manage. She tried her hand at being less formal as she explained, "Samantha, Danny, and Tucker visit on occasion, of course. With everything they have done for me and my kingdom, I would be an awful host if I did not try to meet their most basic of needs."

"They've helped you? With what?" Jack's thirst for information about his son got the better of him, and he found himself abandoning his usual caution as he joined the others in walking toward the ethereal Princess.

Unsure on how much she was _supposes_ to answer—after all Tucker had warned about revealing too much information when he'd come to ask for her help—she met the half-dead teenager's eyes with her own. She silently tried to ask for guidance, but frowned when she received a hollow look and weary shrug in return. Her friend was not well, and it was very clear that he urgently needed respite from the world around him.

She did her best to answer both truthfully, and vaguely, "They have done many selfless things to aid a great number us here in the Ghost Zone. We are forever in their debt... but perhaps now is not the best time for discussion. We should get you all to safety." She nodded toward her fellow ghosts, who each approached the various humans in question, "Please, do not be afraid. All you need to do is hold their hands, and they will be able to carry you to our home."

Danny watched with wide eyes as the ghosts held out their palms, and eventually his classmates and teacher accepted the offers. Even Tucker got his own partner—a giggling young female ghost who'd met them on a few occasions before—and he laughed as she cheerfully took a bow, "Hello Sir Tuck!"

A large, blue skinned knight approached his mother and extended a gentlemanly arm. He was wearing traditional plate armor, but bore an enthusiastic, sharp toothed smile that seemed to brighten his face more than his ghostly glow. He was oddly soft-spoken as he addressed her, "My Lady, it would be my honor."

Maddie stiffened, but with a reassuring nod from her son, she eventually accepted.

Wary fingers wrapped around the crook of the ghost's arm, and she found her scientifically minded self surprised by the fact that she could feel the cool, tingling sensation of his aura even through her thick, rubber jumpsuit. Her distrust vanished for a split second, and she found herself almost giddy at the fact that she was actually _touching_ a ghost. There could be so much to learn!

She wondered what the glowing energy surrounding him was comprised of... it faintly prickled like a mix of extremely cold static. Was it some type of electoplasmic discharge? Ghosts didn't inhale to take in oxygen, or exhale to release CO2, but it was a well-known fact that they absorbed the ectoplasm in the air surrounding them to fuel their powers. Was it their way of breathing? If only she could...

The ghost shifted a bit and looked down at her, "Is everything alright, Ma'am?"

Maddie started, and turned her red goggled eyes back toward his. She scrunched her nose and once again grew somewhat hostile, "Don't try anything funny, ghost." She paused for a second, then shook her head, "And don't call me Ma'am! It makes me sound old."

The ghost balked, but nodded, eager to please. "Of course! I did not mean to offend. Please, accept my humble apology my lady!"

Danny could only stare in a mix of apprehension and morbid amusement. He brought one hand up to rub the bridge of his nose, and pulled his other hand from his side with a grimace. He once again tried to stand, but realized with a wave of nauseous dizziness that he wasn't going anywhere. His stomach lurched, just as a faint ache in his chest pulsed, "Dammit..."

"Sir Fenton?" Dora's voice was laced with concern. She could sense the strange waver in his ectoplasmic energy… even in his human form, which was far from normal. When he casually waved her off she grew even more worried and hastily instructed, "I shall carry Sir Fenton and the rest of you myself. Please stand back."

A few moments later her thin, feminine form hunched and shifted to that of a monstrous, fire breathing dragon of legend. She lowered her neck toward where Mikey, Nathan and Sam stood.

The two nerds shook with both anticipation and fear. It took quite a bit of of prodding on the goth's part to convince them to climb aboard, and once she was confident that they wouldn't just slide off, she hoisted herself up behind them, "No worries. Dora isn't gonna to let you fall." They both nodded in appreciation at her comforting encouragement.

Mikey licked his lips and sighed, "This is so cool."

The dragon then held out one clawed hand toward the eldest Fenton. Jack looked confused at first, but realized that she intended to literally _carry_ him. He cautiously stepped up, and was surprised at the attentive way she curled her fingers so that he was almost sitting in her palm.

He could feel the sheer strength she commanded in each 'finger' but it was blatantly obvious that she was being as gentle as possible. Despite his decidedly biased opinion on ghosts, it was extremely reassuring and did quite a bit to strengthen his resolve to believe in his son. If Danny trusted these ghosts... the least he could do was have an open mind. The ghosts _had_ saved their world after all, and that had to mean something, right?

Just a short few years ago he would have thought himself crazy for even thinking that... He would have insisted that ghosts didn't have the capacity for empathy, or restraint… but now?

He was going to be better. That was his promise.

He wrapped one hand around her 'thumb' and nodded to indicate that he was ready. A low grumble built up from her throat to indicate her approval, and she pulled back to sit on her haunches as she extended her other hand.

Jack couldn't help thinking that she was more graceful than her bulk suggested she could be. Very slowly, and with an almost meticulous amount of care, she scooped up his son in her other hand.

Danny winced, and let out a meek grunt as he clenched his eyes shut, "Ah... ow..."

The dragon's massive jaw clenched apprehensively, and she stopped her movements. Danny shifted to look up at her with half lidded eyes, "No... ugh, Dora, it's fine. I'm fine. Let's... let's get going."

She didn't seem convinced, and she snorted to express her disbelief, releasing faint wisps of smoke from her nostrils. Piercing, glowing eyes settled on the teenager in her grasp.

Danny sighed, "I just need to _sleep."_

The way his son stressed the word 'sleep' struck an odd cord with Jack. He usually wasn't one for nuance... but Danny's inflection was off.

 _Off_.

There was that word again.

It was a weird word to use when describing his son, but once again it seemed to be the only thing that fit.

Dora appeared to accept Danny's answer, and once again began to pull him closer to her chest. It was then that Jack realized that she was making sure that off all the people in her care, he wasn't only the most secure... he was also the most _protected._

It gave Jack a new sense of respect for the ghost. She was once again showing a kindness he didn't once believe was possible from her kind.

And if it really was genuine—which his gut told him it was—he owed her both an honest apology, and a heartfelt thanks.  
***

Freakshow narrowed his eyes as he peered around the corner, a tumbled column serving as his only cover. The ghost was decidedly absent, and the emptiness that surrounded him made him nervous. He knew that if he was caught, he'd be dead… and not in the way he wanted to be.

He skittered into the room and glanced about, eyes settling on his prize. The ghost had left behind the dented thermos that it'd been so keen on earlier. Freakshow knew what it was of course, having seen Phantom and his meddling friends use them on his ghost slaves on multiple occasions.

His employer—if you could truly call it that—had mentioned something about a ghost named Clockwork keeping secrets… this particular thermos being one of them. This lead to the ringmaster doing a bit of hasty research on the subject. He _was_ quite good at that, after all.  
He was surprised to learn that Clockwork was essentially the ghostly equivalent of father time. Other ghosts either assumed he was myth, or avoided him like the plague… which meant he was incredibly powerful.

Yet he'd seen what had happened when the two ghosts clashed. His ' _master_ ' had gotten lucky, and surprised the ancient being—though was unable to destroy him—and now had him squirreled away and captive in the same way they handled the most violent and dangerous of the ghost criminals.

Freakshow suspected the ghost's luck had something to do with the staff it never went without… though he hadn't been successful in digging up any information on that particular artifact. It was obviously very old, and its 'branches' nestled what looked like several, variously sized and colored eyeballs. It hummed with an electric like energy…

Not to mention the Catalyst crystal that hovered among the eyeballs. It was about the same size as the one he'd implanted in the halfa.

Freakshow was beginning to suspect that _that_ had been a mistake as well. Things were getting far more complicated than he had been led to believe… Still, if everything worked out how _he_ wanted it to in the end, he'd be one of the most powerful and influential beings in both worlds.

He steeled his resolve and snatched the thermos from the makeshift table, and gave it a little shake. It was old and worn, and his thumb rested in the grooves created by the dents on it's surface. Upon closer inspection he realized that the damage must have come from the _inside._ Interesting.

He quickly tucked the mini-prison in his coat and darted away and back into the Zone. He'd decide exactly what to do with his catch later. He was eager to check back in with Lydia… she'd been nearly destroyed by the events in the park earlier, and was still extremely unstable. Maybe she'd have more information on what was in the thermos.  
***

The students were practically ravenous by the time they were led into the great hall of Dora's castle. Tables had been laid out and were littered with various types of human food—nothing too extravagant as they didn't have access to much more than what team Phantom had brought with them on previous visits—but it didn't seem to matter to the hungry teenagers. They sat anxiously, waiting for permission to dig in.

At first the Fenton's were wary, and eyed the food suspiciously. They kept the students from eating… that is until Sam stood up and popped a handful of dried cherries in her mouth. She put her other palm on her hip as she chewed, and silently dared them to stop her. Danny, as tired as he was, couldn't keep himself from snickering loudly.

That's all it took for the other students to ignore the supposed danger and tune out any objections. Slowly but surely the Fentons, Lancer, and Valerie gave in as well, cautiously taking seats and adding small helpings of what was most likely canned vegetables and meats to their plates.

Danny sighed in relief and sunk deeper into his chair. Dora had made sure to provide something large and cushioned for him, promising that she'd be back after she checked to make sure there were decent rooms set up for them to rest in. Danny, Sam and Tucker had their own modest room that was always ready for them, but hadn't exactly made that common knowledge yet.

Numerous ghosts stopped to stare at the sight for a few seconds before moving on. Of course, they'd been made aware of their guests before arrival, but hearing about the gaggle of humans and seeing them up close were two very different things. Team Phantom were frequent visitors… but other than them, humans were extremely rare in the Zone.

The knight that had escorted Maddie had been assigned to stand guard, and usher the other ghosts along if they gawked too long. Several of Dora's handmaidens scurried about as well, making sure their guests were attended to, and they casually but cautiously conversed in an attempt to make the humans more comfortable. Most of them were familiar with Danny, Sam and Tucker, and they happily stopped to chat openly with them as they passed.

Tucker even flirted occasionally with the young looking ghost that had been his guide earlier. Her name was Lila, and not only was she one of Dora's closest confidants, she was also very fond of the trio. She and The techno-geek got along best, and he was currently seated on the edge of the table, excitedly telling some exaggerated story or another. She laughed playfully, and even seemed to blush slightly through her light blue skin, "How scandalous!"

"You're tellin' me!" Tucker smirked, rubbing his eyes. He spooned another small helping of bland tasting food onto his plate, "I'm telling you Lila, it was insane!"

Danny smiled, and gnawed vigorously on a slab of beef jerky. He didn't care that he was tired and the struggle to eat the tough, dried meat jarred his injuries… he was starving. He honestly couldn't remember the last time he'd been _this_ hungry.

Mikey was sitting right next to him, eyes shifting nervously as he studied the ghosts that surrounded them. Whenever he was caught by whoever he was staring at, he'd snap his gaze back down to his plate nervously. After a few repeated offenses he finally turned to Danny and asked, "So… it's like medieval here, right?"

Danny tilted his head to acknowledge the question and raised a brow, "Yep."

"They're all from the middle ages, like, Lord of the Rings or something?"

Danny stopped chewing and nodded, "Yes...ish? I'm sure some of them are at least." He paused, "I mean, real world middle ages aren't really like the movies."

"So why do some of them have like, cell phones and T-shirts and stuff?"

Sam was on Danny's other side and almost choked on her food. Tucker noticed the commotion and turned away from his ghostly companion to pat her on the back. Danny chuckled nervously, "Uh… you can kinda blame Sam for that one."

"Viva la revolution!" Tucker added with a laugh, which promoted another high pitched giggle from the ghost at his side.

The goth cleared her throat and mumbled, "Uh, if my memory is correct, _you_ were there too, ya know."

Another voice unexpectedly entered the conversation from behind them, and Mikey jumped. Sam and Danny didn't seem startled at all however, as Dora spoke, "My friends here helped liberate my kingdom from a horrible tyrant."

Her sudden appearance and explanation served to gain the majority of the group's attention, and she found herself being scrutinized very closely by her guests. She cocked her head slightly and smiled nervously, "Quite bravely in fact. My people and I owe them an eternal debt."

"Dora, you don't owe us anything." Sam stated nonchalantly, "That misogynistic creep deserved everything he got."

"How exactly did Danny overthrow a ghost tyrant?" Maddie cut in, goggled eyes focused squarely on her son. She was sitting across the large, ancient table from him, leaning forward as she awaited the reply.

Dora squirmed, and looked down at the teenager in question. She would not give away any information he wished to remain secret, though she knew she had to say _something._

Danny brought one hand up to rub his neck, while the other went to press snugly against his side, "Sam was the real hero there… I was just the backup. Aragon was like, _super_ crazy and violent. And he refused to let the kingdom evolve past the _swords and shields_ era, if that make sense. He oppressed everyone, especially the women, and made Dora do all his dirty work for him. Sam totally showed him the error of his ways though."

"I didn't do much." Sam muttered between bites, "I mean, he sent Dora to Amity Park to find a human bride, because he thought that would somehow make him even more of a _special snowflake_. I was just the 'lucky' one chosen." She paused, "During the beauty pageant freshmen year."

Paulina and Star both gasped in surprise, the later stating, "Oh my God! What?"

"Yeah…" Sam smirked, then smiled fondly at the memory as she continued, "I realized pretty quick that Dora didn't really want to do what Aragon ordered her to, and that he was just manipulating her to get what he wanted." Another pause, and the goth turned her gaze up to the ghost Princess and grinned, "All I did was point out that Dora was way stronger and smarter than him. She did the rest."

"You are all quite humble." Dora placed her hand on Sam's shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze, "Though I suppose that is the ' _gist of it_ ' as you say."

"Danny came to save Sam, who _totally_ didn't need saving. By the time he got here Dora was throwing down against Aragon and _winning._ Ever since then her kingdom has been changing and modernizing like crazy. It's a beautiful thing!" Tucker stretched his arms, "I've had a lot of fun teaching them about technology."

"It truly is wonderful!" Dora laughed, "My people are happy, and my kingdom has grown exponentially! We're no longer tied to the traditions of the past… instead we honor them while embracing change and growth."

"Interesting." Maddie bit her lip and narrowed her eyes. Nothing about the story really made sense to her… after all, ghosts shouldn't have been able to be that cognizant—that self-aware of their place in society. In a sense they should have been complacent. Their obsessions shouldn't have allowed them to develop in such ways.

"No kidding!" Jack exclaimed, scratching his chin. He looked a little skeptical as well, though there was also that curious glint in his eyes he'd always get when he discovered something new or intriguing. He questioned, "If you were stronger than him, why didn't you just take over a long time ago?"

Dora's smile faltered slightly, and her eyes grew somber, "Similar situations happen in your human world all the time, do they not? When someone continuously tells you that you are worthless and weak, you eventually come to accept it as truth... especially if it is someone you love, and is supposed to love you. My _brother_ never failed to remind me of my _place_. Hundreds of years passed where I was led to believe I was simply inferior, and deserved no better."

"Brother?" Maddie's tone softened considerably. That tugged at even her heartstrings—after all, her own family had shunned and belittled Jack since the day they started dating. Luckily he was strong willed and never let it get to him. Her compassion was fleeting as another, more logical thought struck her, "I wasn't aware that ghosts were able to have familiar bonds."

Dora looked confused, and questioned, "Why wouldn't we be able to?"

"Well… ghosts are just apparitions created when ectoplasm fuses to the energy and raw, negative emotion left behind by death. Ghosts only exist because of their obsessions. Families would be… well, redundant I suppose."

"Oh my God, mom…" Danny dragged his hand down his face and sighed, "No…"

The Princess looked extremely uncomfortable by Maddie's assertion, but to her credit she remained calm as she corrected, "That isn't quite true."

"Oh?" Maddie's lips turned up in disbelief, but she waited for the ghost in question to elaborate.

Danny just groaned in his seat and exhaled loudly before Dora continued, "It is typically far more complicated than that. While it is true that _some_ ghosts form when a human or animal dies… it is not necessarily due to negative emotion. That is probably far rarer than you think. Even then, those that die angry do not necessarily carry that negativity into the afterlife. Not all ghosts have obsessions—at least not in the sense you seem to believe—though I'm sure some do..." She paused, "Then there are those of my kind that are simply born to the Zone itself. It's not all so black and white." She sighed, and shook her head, "I am not really the best person to ask, there are those that are far more knowledgeable in these matters than I."

Maddie bit her lower lip and looked as if she was about to contest the information, but before she could Danny decided to butt into the conversation. "Because I know you're probably about to… please, DO NOT ask a ghost _if_ or _how_ they died." He sounded jaded, almost offended by the situation, "Just don't."

She turned to her son and frowned, "Sweetie, I'm just trying to get my facts straight..." He rolled his eyes in an entirely too exaggerated response, making his disbelief evident. She found herself upset by his sudden attitude, "Fine then. I'll ask this instead: Why do you say you aren't the best... _person..._ to ask? Aren't you a ghost? Shouldn't you know this?"

Dora smiled in response and shrugged her shoulders, "Could every human answer the same questions about their existence or creation? Perhaps I am incorrect in assuming that not every human knows the workings of their biology or psychological functions as well."

Maddie looked taken aback, and she made to counter, "But..."

"Mads," Jack's tone was soft but assertive when he interrupted, "She... actually has a good point there."

"Jack?"

"All I'm saying is we don't know everything... why assume that she does?" He stood, and motioned to their surroundings elaborately, "We promised Danny-boy that we'd keep an open mind, right? Look around us. We didn't even know something like this... uh... _lair..._ existed. We only had theories up until this point... and well, a lot of them were wrong, Mads. We both know that."

"Wow, Mr. F..." Sam almost gaped, shocked at what she was hearing, "I didn't actually think I'd hear something like that from you. No offense."

Jack flushed a bit as he looked up toward the ceiling, and in a very Danny like way he scratched at the back of his head, "Yeah well... things change I guess. I promised I would try to too."

"Dad?"

A chill went down Jack's spine when he turned his attention toward his son. His teen-aged son's brow was scrunched tight, his eyes shining with a swimming mess of raw emotion. He somehow looked both relieved and troubled at the same time. It was almost as if he was studying Jack, looking for some answer to an unknown question.

It was like he was looking for a lie; or rather, looking for any indication that Jack wasn't being entirely honest. The extent of his disbelief was almost staggering. What had he done to loose so much of his son's trust? And why was Danny so passionate about it?

After several long seconds Danny's eyes widened ever so slightly, and he slumped back tiredly. His words came out breathless and exhausted, "You're serious. You actually mean that." It was a statement rather than a question.

Jack's heart practically tried to climb up his throat. Danny was seventeen—almost an adult as far as Jack was concerned—He'd grown up and filled out, but at the moment he looked as small and vulnerable as he did when he was five, "Of course I do, Danny."

"Huh..." The teenager was at a loss for words, and he rubbed absentmindedly at his chest. Every few seconds he looked like he wanted to speak, but changed his mind at the last moment.

"Danny, what's wrong?" Jack leaned forward, "Are you alright?"

"What? Yeah... yeah I'm ok." Danny shifted in discomfort, and winced in pain, "I'm just tired... and gross." He shook his head and looked up toward the ghost that was now standing between him and Sam, "Dora, I've got some extra clothes stashed around here somewhere, right?"

"Yes, I believe so. They are in your quarters." Her tone subtly gave away her concern over his well-being, "I've also heated some water. It should be sufficient for you and your schoolmates to get cleaned up if you need. I'll have a basin delivered for you."

"Oh God, that would be great..." Danny closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh, "You're the best."

"It'll give me a chance to change those bandages." Sam pushed away from the table and stood, holding out one hand to help Danny to his feet, "Come on. Dora, if you've got a bit of time, I'd love to catch up."

"Of course! I'd be happy to!" The Princess replied. She had been extremely eager to speak with them privately since they arrived, but had yet to have the chance. She drifted back, giving them room to move on.

"Where are you going?" Maddie demanded, "We should stay together!"

"Mom... Sam, Tuck and I have stayed here a bunch of times. We even have our own room." Danny explained, "It's upstairs... uh, that way." He brushed his hand toward one of the far wings of the castle, "We're safe here. I just want to wipe myself down and change, ok?"

"I've actually prepared the foyer and several rooms in the same hall as yours for your friends and family." Dora added, "Once everyone has had their fill, Lila can show the way."

"See? We're all gonna be together." Danny sighed, and took a few shaky steps, "You coming Tuck?"

"I'll be up in a bit." The techno-geek replied, leaning down to grab his backpack, "Gonna snag a bit more to eat."

The Halfa knew that food wasn't the only thing Tucker had in mind. No doubt he wanted to stay behind and run 'damage control' with his classmates and parents.

He really needed to remember to thank Tucker as soon as he got the chance.

With an appreciative nod Danny let Sam lead him away, trudging along as best he could in his current condition. His legs didn't want to work, and they prickled like they'd fallen asleep with each step he took. It made him wish he could just transform and float, but even if his parents and classmates hadn't been there, the way his powers had been acting up had him terrified so it was probably for the best that he couldn't.

"At least let me help with your injuries!" Maddie just about pleaded, leaping up from her seat, "I'd like to take a closer look, to make sure they aren't getting worse!"

Danny sighed, and shook his head. He stopped, and turned to face her, "And have my mom fawning all over me while I take a bath? Ew. No."

"But Sam?"

"I'm just gonna change his bandages Ms. F." The goth rolled her eyes, and they turned away to continue walking, "I'm not planning on climbing in with him, jeeze. Dora's my friend, and I wanna hang out with her. Just relax, alright? Maybe get to know your hosts a bit."

"Without shooting them." Danny added dryly, turning away as he spoke.

Maddie was about to object, but Jack once again stepped in and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. A few moments later, Danny and Sam turned a corner and were out of sight, with the ghostly Princess floating silently along behind them. It took every ounce of self-control Maddie had to not yell or run off after them.

Her heart was heavy as she slowly looked up at her husband. She almost wanted to lash out at him, to demand to know why he was so calm about all of this. He'd seemed so dismissive and accepting with Danny and the situation, and that just seemed so irresponsible! Their son was hurt, and confused… he'd been collaborating with ghosts on an apparently regular basis! The sheer danger he'd been in… Everything was going to hell in a handbasket and she was having a hard time handling it. She really didn't know how Jack was.

Then she realized that he was worried too. He was just doing his best to remain calm and assertive. His expression spoke volumes without the need for words.

He really was serious about giving the ghosts a chance. It wasn't actually easy for him—she could see it in his eyes—he was just as anxious, and scared. He wanted answers from their son just as badly as she did... but he was willing to give Danny and the denizens of the Ghost Zone the benefit of the doubt. He was willing to trust them. He knew, deep down, that Danny would come to them when he was ready, and he was willing to wait.

He was right about the majority of their theories being wrong. She was just so stubborn and set in her beliefs that she didn't want to let them go. No matter how many times her brain told her to step back and think logically, she pressed on in blind ambition. Perhaps if her baby boy hadn't been so obviously twisted up in all of this, maybe it would have been easier. Maybe she'd be able to stay impartial. As it was right now... she didn't really know what to think, or how to act.

With a quiet sigh, Maddie closed her eyes and reached up to remove her goggles and hood. As the rubber shifted away, her messy, bright red hair fell free to frame her face, and she used her fingers to tame it as best she could. The familiar tug through her hair was actually soothing, and she did her best to steady her nerves.

After a deep breath she opened her eyes, and slowly looked around. Some of the students were staring at her, wondering what she was going to do. Others were still eating. Mr. Lancer looked a bit lost, but was obviously doing his best to take everything in stride.  
Tucker was watching the two of them out of the corner of his eye—as best he could without his glasses anyway—and was digging silently through his backpack in an attempt to make it look like he wasn't paying them any mind. It was a good facade, but not good enough to completely fool her.

She cleared her throat and spoke as confidently as she could muster, "Alright everyone. Take a bit longer to finish eating, and then go get some rest. I'm sure you're all just as tired as I am."

The majority of the students looked relieved. Valerie—one of Danny's old girlfriends if Maddie remembered correctly—seemed to brood a bit, but non-the-less continued to pick at the food on her plate.

"Tucker?"

"Yes Ms. F.?"

"I believe you promised my husband a look at your tablet. You mentioned something about ' _info'."_

 _"_ Heh, yeah I guess I did." Tucker smiled, and pulled the tablet from his bag. He'd taken the time while they were walking to encrypt and hide away anything he didn't want them to see, so he didn't bother with hesitating, "I got a bunch of neat stuff here, take a look."

Jack almost grew giddy, and moved around to the other side of the table to hunch over the teenager and get a better look.

Maddie swallowed, and took in her surroundings. The armored ghost that had helped her earlier was still present, standing idly in a doorway and watching over the group with an almost innocent curiosity. When he realized she was staring at him, he smiled meekly and offered her a small wave.

She couldn't smile back... not yet anyway. It was going to take her some time to adjust, but if Jack was going to make the attempt, she figured she probably should too… Especially if that meant getting closer to Danny, and finding out what exactly had been happening with him.

So, no, she didn't quite smile. But as a compromise with herself, she waved back.

* * *

 **Authors notes:** I do have question for you guys... do you think I'm moving the story along too slowly? I sometimes feel like I'm too long winded.

Thanks again for reading, and don't forget to review!


	7. Chapter 7

**Authors notes:** Hello everyone! I'm currently uploading this from work, so I've gotta keep it short and sweet: Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed the last chapter. It means a lot to me and you guys seriously rock.

So without further delay...

CHAPTER SEVEN

* * *

Sam all but collapsed face first onto the soft, ancient bed of their shared quarters as she took a deep, weary breath. The thick, timeworn blanket that awaited her smelled lightly of lavender—which Dora knew was her favorite—but that didn't quite cover up the faint, stale scent that served as evidence to just how old the fabric was. Not that she was complaining, she actually liked the smell… it was oddly comforting.

Dora floated up to sit beside her—though her ghostly form didn't leave any sort of indentation on the bed of course—and she kindly, but awkwardly, rubbed her human friend's back, "You three seem as though you have been through quite the ordeal."

Sam turned her head to look over to where Danny was sleeping. He'd quickly washed up, and she'd already changed his bandages. The goth had been eager to keep it to herself, but in all honesty, he looked like he had been hit by a truck. Bruises and weird bumps ran along one of his sides, as well as several scratches and cuts from dealing with Skulker. He _was_ healing… thank God, but still not as well as he usually did. The whole situation had her very worried for his half-life.

Now he was curled up on his uninjured side, head tucked in against the back of an antique sofa of sorts—the kind that only had one arm and extended out flat where the other would be. His bare feet dangled off the far end, but he had been so tired he never even tried to make it to the bed, and was out before he had even hit the cushions. Dora helpfully draped a light blanket over him and tucked an ornately decorated pillow under head to make him more comfortable.

"It's been a nightmare, Dora." Sam replied quietly, rolling to her back so she could look up at her ghostly friend, "Something is seriously wrong with him."

The ethereal princess tilted her head to glance toward the hybrid, and did her best to comfort Sam by placing a gentle hand on her arm, "I know. I can sense his energy fluctuating even now. His core must be very unstable for me to be able to feel it while he's in this form… Do you know what caused it?"

"Freakshow." Sam groaned, using her free hand to rub her eyes, "He stabbed Danny, or something… UGH, I don't freaking know what the hell the bastard _actually_ did…" She took a deep breath and broke down the day's events, starting from the attack at the park. Dora listened intently, only interrupting to ask a few questions here and there.

"I don't know, my friend. I wish I could be of greater help." Dora sighed, and shook her head, "I've never heard of anything like this before… but considering everything going wrong in the Ghost Zone lately…"

"It's probably safe to assume it's not just a coincidence, huh?" Sam had always been a realist, "I mean, we've caught a few things from Ember and Johnny, but not much. What the hell _is_ going on around here?"

"I'm afraid I really just don't know… at least, not any more than the others." Dora shook her head and looked somberly out the old, gothic window and into the swirling green mists beyond, "Several ghosts have either gone missing or lost their minds… A few have had their lairs crumble away."

"Yeah, we heard about that." Sam frowned, "As annoying as the guy is, I still feel bad. How's Box Ghost doing?"

"He is understandably distraught… and a little unstable. I can't say that I've ever seen him so… subdued." Dora replied, "I believe he has gone to stay with Pandora. She felt quite sorry for him."

"Pandora? Really?"

"Yes. She was quite impressed by him after he was tasked with guarding her box. From what I understand, he took his duty very seriously."

"Huh, you don't say." Sam gave a gentle smile, "At least he had somewhere to go."

"Yes… and I've offered asylum to Ghost Writer."

Sam sat up, confusion etching into her features, "Ghost Writer? Did he loose his lair too? I thought it was only the weaker ghosts that were having issues…"

"No. His lair is still _relatively_ intact, and though he is suffering the same afflictions as we all are in all this, he still has his wits…"

"So why…?"

Dora shook her head, brow tightening into a sad crease, "He was attacked, and is recovering. From what I understand, his library was invaded and ransacked quite violently."

"By who?" Sam narrowed her eyes, anger bubbling just beneath the surface. Ghost Writer may not have been the trio's favorite specter—especially for Danny—but they had come to a respectable truce and solid understanding. There had even been a few times where he'd allowed them to browse his library for much needed information. He and Danny sometimes mumbled not so serious insults and rolled eyes at one another, but they were far from antagonistic, and he even proved to be helpful with a bit of prodding.

"He was rattled by the experience, but my scouts suggest it was Fright Knight. I know Lord Frostbite was going to follow up and send some of his warriors to investigate, but all of that has been put on hold since we heard you three were missing. We didn't know for sure, but we had assumed you were somewhere in the Zone."

"Wait, what? You already knew?"

"Yes. I believe Danny's sister managed to contact the Far Frozen… though I was not made privy to the intimate details of their conversation. We've all been looking for you. I've sent a message to Lord Frostbite to let him know that you are here and safe, though communications have been rather…"

"Let me guess: unstable?"

"Yes."

"That seems to be the word of the day, doesn't it?" Sam sighed, and after a few seconds of tense silence, a though struck her, "What about the weird pulse things… I mean, I've never seen anything like that before. They seem to really mess with Danny, and even Skulker got all bothered for a sec when one hit. Tucker and I don't really feel anything… so I'm assuming it's strictly a ghost thing."

Dora nodded, "They affect us all, and seem to happen very randomly. They were infrequent at first, and even now don't seem to follow a pattern of any sort. Sometimes it's hours between the shockwaves, and sometimes they don't happen for a few days."

The corners of Sam's mouth dipped into an even stiffer frown, "Dora… how long has this been going on? I mean, I know we've been busy with graduation and it's been a while since we visited, not to mention the attacks have died down a bit in Amity Park… but how come we haven't heard about it?"

The medieval princess hesitated before answering, her gaze once again shifting to settle on the half dead teenager that was deeply sleeping several feet away, "Several weeks, at least…"

Sam deadpanned, " _Dora_ …"

"It's not exactly your fight. You've all done so much for us, and I know that I certainly don't want to drag you into danger, especially if there's nothing you can actually do about it. " She sighed, "Even I have noticed his exhaustion over the last year or so. _Sir Phantom_ may be a ghost, but _sir Fenton_ is only human, after all. Er, I mean, he's a brave, selfless human, of course! You all are!" She flushed, and waved her hands to show she meant no offense, "But you are still so very young. Some of my kind may have forgotten that, and may have forgotten how to empathize, but there are those of us that have not. We should be perfectly capable of handling our own problems without having to depend on three human children."

Sam could understand that she meant well, though she still couldn't help but feel a little off put, "I get it, but ghost/human things aside… we're your friends, Dora. We care a lot about you, and _want_ to help if we can."  
***

Lila was at the head of the pack, gleefully leading their warm blooded guests up a wide, curving set of stairs toward the series of rooms and foyers that had been rearranged and prepared earlier in the day. The halls were lit with various flickering torches that cast long, dark shadows across every surface, and she had to keep reminding herself that while she was used to the dim, heavy atmosphere of the castle and Zone, the humans were not. She did her best to remain chipper, and was delighted to discover that a few of the trio's classmates had opened up a bit, and were curiously taking in their surroundings or asking questions.

Two in particular had piqued her interest with their questions—she thought she remembered them saying their names were Mikey and Nathan—and she happily answered anything they quietly asked. It seemed as though they were somewhat sheepish, though some of their personality traits reminded her a bit of Sir Tuck.

The other students mostly mumbled to themselves or rolled their eyes, and she had a sneaking suspicion that they thought lesser of the two at her side, which she thought was a shame considering how kind and honest they were. She was a little downtrodden that Sir Tuck had chosen to remain behind in the great hall—he and Phantom's father were currently absorbed in their discussions—but knew that she would be able to catch up later. Either way, she was happy to help team Phantom and Lady Dorathea by entertaining the human teenagers.

Lancer was also quite interested in their surroundings, despite his initial fear. Having lived in Amity Park for so long had led him to believe that most ghosts only wanted to cause trouble, and there were very few that seemed to go against the grain in that aspect... namely the ghost boy, Phantom. Now, after everything he'd seen—and after young Mr. Fenton's outburst earlier—he was more apt to accept that that just couldn't be the case. He believed himself to be an excellent judge of character—after all, he had taught moody, developing high school students for _years_ —and the Princess and her subjects hardly seemed like they wanted to cause any harm… though, he would like to have the opportunity to ask more about the whole fashion show debacle.

He couldn't pretend to understand everything going on around him… a lot of this was out of his league, and he'd certainly rather be cautions and err on the side of safety for his students sake… but a small part of him couldn't help the fascination in it all. Especially considering everything he'd learned about the elusive trio that had managed to stump him—and apparently their parents—for so long. Even though it was obvious that Daniel Fenton and his friends weren't telling the whole truth, so much had already been revealed that began to explain their confusing antics.

Lancer suddenly realized that Daniel's nonchalant and almost dismissive attitude toward his current injuries pretty much explained all the well-hidden cuts and bruises the teacher had noticed over the years. He couldn't even imagine the amount of pain the boy must be in—and considering how well he was able to hide it—the dark implications that led to…

There was still something much deeper to all this, something that felt like it should have been obvious… but he had no idea what it could be.

In a way… he was torn. He wanted to find out, wanted to jump down the rabbit hole, so to speak, and discover those answers that were just out of reach… but he was also content to let sleeping dogs lie if it meant quickly and safely getting back to the world of the living. He supposed that's why he was an English teacher, and not a scientist like the Fentons. He could read about the mystery and adventure, tucked in the security of his own, comfy armchair. Still… there was something entirely too… tempting? Was that the word he was really looking for?

Yes. The idea of exploring the unknown and discovering it's darkest secrets was definitely, most assuredly, _tempting._ Part of him could almost understand how three bright teenagers could get caught up in such an intricate web of deceit if it meant adventuring through and understanding an entire new world.

He sighed quietly to himself and shook his head as he looked over the small handful of his students, then toward the ghost at the head of their group. She could almost pass as one of them… she looked about the same age, though he assumed she was probably much, much older.

Take away the glowing blue skin, cinder colored eyes, and the fact that she floated a few inches of the ground rather than walked, she would be quite the pretty young lady. Her bubbly, warm voice and the way that she happily accommodated the two 'nerds' at her side led him to believe that she wouldn't fit in with the A-listers at all… though she wouldn't be an outcast either.

She might even be more like Jasmine Fenton, actually. She would be popular with all the groups, and kind to everyone. Jazz had a bit of a smugness and stiffness to her that the ghost girl lacked… and she definitely wasn't as naive and giggly… but none-the-less, the similarities were there.

Then he turned to look behind him. Valerie Grey was walking alone, arms crossed and eyes set dead ahead. The fact that she was by herself wasn't really odd—she'd grown apart from the other students, which was something he'd always sadly attributed to her monetary change in social standing—but the look on her face was strange. She wasn't interested like some of the students… and she wasn't scared, like the others.

She looked annoyed… maybe even a little bored. She occasionally cocked her head at an echoing sound or shifting shadow, her frame stiffening... definitely not in fear, but in anticipation.

The English teacher hummed quietly to himself. There was something more to that as well…

"Here we are!" Lila announced loudly, extending her arms.

The large foyer in front of them was oval shaped, with wide, ornate windows that let in the dancing green light of the Ghost Zone outside. A slightly ajar glass door sat in the center, leading out onto a large, vine decorated stone balcony that appeared to wrap around and down the entire length of the castle wing.

Four large wooden doors stood opposite the windows, with small, flickering torches nestled between each one. A thick, red rug housed a beautifully intricate but subtle pattern, and two long sofas were adorned with a collection of thin, but adequate blankets and pillows.

The hallway continued to extend past the group and into the dimly lit expanses beyond, and Lila explained, "Lady Dorathea's room is at the end of this corridor and there's a small library as well that you are more than welcome to browse as you see fit..." She motioned to the doors, "The first three rooms have been furnished with beds and sofas, as well as basins of warm water if you need to wash…"

"Uh… what if we need to ya know… use the restroom or something?" Paulina asked.

"Oh! Yes! Of course!" Lila nodded, a small, dark flush brushing across her features, "I apologize... I forgot about that. There is a small lavatory down the hall as well."

"Why would ghosts need restrooms?" Maddie questioned, raising a brow. She crossed her arms, "They're unnecessary for your kind."

Lila smiled, "They are mostly used by team Ph..."

"They are usually reserved for Sirs Fenton, Foley, and Lady Manson." Dora suddenly interrupted, clearing her throat as she materialized from beyond the fourth doorway. A few seconds later Sam came through as well, though in the traditional open-the-door kind of way.

"Ah, yes!" Lila bowed her head to the princess.

"Please, take a look at the rooms and see if they are to your liking," Dora confidently took charge of the conversation, shifting her gaze downward to smile warmly at her handmaiden, "Lila, you are dismissed."

"Of course my Lady!" The smaller, happy go lucky specter quickly faded from sight and was gone.

The princess smiled. There was no doubt in her mind that Lila went to go sit with Tucker and Danny's father. She'd taken quite the shine to the young man over the years, and loved hearing his exaggerated stories of the living realm.

"Where's my son?" Maddie demanded, and Dora turned to face the near glare of the Fenton matriarch. Though, to her credit, it was obvious that she was making an effort to stay civil.

Sam rolled her eyes and motioned to the door, " _Sleeping._ "

"He seemed quite exhausted," Dora added, momentarily glancing back over her shoulder with a worried frown. When she turned back however, she made sure to wear a comforting smile, "As I'm sure you all must be... please feel free to let me know if there is anything in your rooms that isn't to your taste, and I will do as I can to remedy the situation."

"I'm sure the rooms fine, Dora." Sam stretched, and jerked her head toward their room, "Come on Mrs. F. I know you aren't gonna lay off until you see him."

Maddie almost scowled, but resisted, and gave the goth a curt nod. Sam returned with an indifferent shrug, and stepped aside, only pausing to glare coldly at several of her classmates who tried to peek in on the injured teenager as the heavy door swung open. She made sure it was hastily shut fully behind them to avoid the sideshow style stares.

It took a moment for Maddie's eyes to settle on her son, and she quickly but quietly shuffled to his side. He was turned away from her, curled almost defensively and tucked securely against the back of the sofa. She glanced around the room, her gaze shifting from the bed to Sam with a curious look.

Sam sighed, and murmured, "He crashed. I didn't even get a chance to try and convince him to make it to the bed..."

Oddly enough, Maddie only nodded understandingly, "He's always been like that." She paused for a moment, then steeled her nerves and took a knee at Danny's side. She almost ran a few fingers through his hair before frowning inwardly at herself with a shake of her head, then hastily removed her glove to resume her previous endeavor. She wanted to touch him, to feel his tangibility beneath her skin, and knew that the thick, rough rubber of her gloves was more likely to wake him.

Sam stiffened, praying that Danny's mom wouldn't notice how cold he probably was at the moment.

If she did, she didn't say so. A few seconds later, hand still brushing gently across her son's scalp, she added, "When he was a little boy, I would find him curled up and dead asleep in the most awkward places. I even found him in a hamper once when he was four. A _hamper..._ can you believe that?"

The goth almost snickered at Maddie's choice of wording, but managed to keep a straight face, "Yeah?"

"Mmmhmm." The scientist hummed nostalgically. Danny shifted ever so slightly under her touch, and she stiffened, fearful that she'd woken him. When he let out a huff and pulled his arms closer to his chest she frowned, but continued her ministrations, "What happened to my baby boy...?"

It took Sam a few seconds to realize the question wasn't really aimed at her. A breath hitched in her throat as she watched the careful way Maddie ran her fingers through Danny's hair. She sealed her lips in a tight line, and scrunched her brow sadly.

Sam's fingers clenched tightly at her sides. Nothing about this situation was fair... not for anyone involved.  
***

Jack sat in near silence, staring wide eyed at the tablet in his hands. Tucker was sitting lazily on the table with his legs dangling off the edge, and that ghost girl—Lila was her name—was floating a few feet above the surface of the wood, mildly curios of the only two humans left in the great hall. She'd remained mostly quiet as Jack studied the information, occasionally answering a question when Tucker couldn't.

Or wouldn't. Jack couldn't tell for sure, but considering everything that had happened so far, he was fairly certain that the teenager was still keeping quite a bit under wraps. Part of him was pretty angry—all the secrecy was wearing on his nerves—but he also couldn't help but be proud and admire the apparent loyalty the three friends had to one another. It was clear that the biggest secrets belonged to Danny, but Sam and Tucker were steadfast in their dedication to the cause _._

"I can't believe you three have mapped out this much of the Ghost Zone on your own..." Jack drew his fingers across the slick, glass surface and watched as the roughly drawn picture zoomed out even further, "...and you're saying all the doors lead to other areas? Like instant teleportation or something?"

"Uh... something like that?" Tucker rubbed the bridge of his nose, contemplating just how much detail he was willing to reveal. He didn't really think talking about the Zone itself would give away anything major... but he still wanted to be careful. He didn't really want to overload Mr. Fenton by revealing something crazy.

Oh, God, like how about that time they accidentally used the infi-map to time travel? It was Vlad's fault really, but still... that's probably something that should be omitted from the current conversation.

"They're like gateways, I guess. Some of them lead to ghost lairs, some of them lead to weird, other dimensions that are like... still part of the Zone. Some of them lead to Earth... We haven't really gone through too many on purpose, since it's pretty random where you'll end up sometimes, but Frostbite always calls the Ghost Zone the 'I _nfinite Realms'_ for a reason, I guess."

"Frostbite? I don't think I saw that one when I was skimming through your 'ghost files' earlier..."

"Lord Frostbite is the leader of the Far Frozen." Lila added, "He is very wise, and is an ally to Lady Dorathea."

"Yeah, here, hang on..." Tucker narrowed his eyes to try and make out the image on the tablet with his unaided vision, then did his best to drag the map so that it would center on the Far Frozen, "He wasn't in the same files as the ones you were looking at earlier, because I thought it might be best to focus on the ghosts that are more on the regular 'bad guy' spectrum of things first. That's why you didn't see anything on Dora either. Frostbite's only really come through the portal a few times, and only to help... like during the Disastroid thing. He's all about protecting and leaving the human realm alone. A lot of ghosts are... I'll show you those ones later."

"That reminds me..." Lila sighed, righting herself in the air so that she was sitting up straight. She stretched as if she was tired... which was a gesture that Jack couldn't help but find amusing considering what he knew about ghost physiology, and she smiled meekly down at them, "It's about time for me to get back to my duties... I've been tasked with trying to contact the Far Frozen again. They were quite concerned over your safety, but we've been having a hard time keeping up communications."

"Wait... what?" Tucker cocked his head in confusion, "Why? I thought I had it all pretty stable... I mean, I know it's hard to get through to Earth, but last time I checked the connections I set up between you guys were good..."

Lila sighed, and shrugged, "They were, Sir Tuck. But I have been told that the strange happenings in the Zone have been interfering with the signals."

Jack couldn't quite process what was going on, "You set up communications in the Ghost Zone? How?"

Tucker stiffened, and grew somewhat sheepish before admitting, "I kinda, sorta, maybe took a look at how the Fenton Phones worked, and did some research into long range radio and satellite communication. I adapted your guy's technology..."

"The Fenton Phones?"

"Yeah... sorry. We needed a way to contact each other if we got separated, so we sorta swiped a few of them, and I made more based off your design... then we fashioned some hubs together and… well…"

Jack would probably have been more upset if he weren't thoroughly impressed. Despite what his kids often teased, the small little headsets were nothing like regular walkie-talkies or radio transmitters. They were actually highly sophisticated little pieces of technology that took Jack quite a few years to perfect. If what Tucker said was true, he'd managed to figure them out and improve them...

Well, damn. He always knew the kid was smart, but he'd never actually realized _how_ smart.

"I could take a look at it, if you want..." Tucker looked toward Lila, and despite his best efforts to stay composed, couldn't help but let out a loud, breathy yawn, "Oh, God, sorry about that..."

"Oh, no! Please don't worry yourself over these matters right now. It's been a few hours since your friends and family went to rest... I imagine you're eager to do the same."

Jack blinked in surprise and shook his head, glancing down at the clock on the tablet. He didn't know quite how accurate it could be in the strange, physics-defying space of the Ghost Zone, but it suggested that he and Tucker had spent at least two or three hours going over information and images...

And he hadn't even scratched the surface. Everything he'd read and seen so far had been highly informative—if it was all true, of course—but nothing had revealed too much more about his son. That was a little more than disappointing.

He already knew he'd have to get that information directly from the source... but he was hoping there would be _something_ more to add to the growing collection of puzzle pieces jumbling around in his head. Deep down he had a suspicion that Tucker had hidden or encrypted the most valuable information, but he didn't really have any proof. He knew that accusations at this point would probably shut them up faster than spreading wildfire, so he had to bite his tongue and hope for the opportunities to rise later.

"Oh, yeah, sleep would be nice," Tucker mumbled, scratching absentmindedly at his stomach, "Mr. F... I have a feeling my battery is going to die soon anyway. I've got an external in my bag, but how about we call it a night for now? I promise you can look at it again tomorrow, or whenever you want."

Jack hesitated for a moment, weighing his options. He wanted so desperately to keep going, but admittedly was pretty tired himself. He nodded complacently with a sigh.

Lila smiled, "Do you need me to lead the way?"

Tucker jumped off the table and looked at her like she was crazy, then laughed, "Oh, come on, it hasn't been _that_ long. I got this. Goodnight Lila."

Still hovering at their eye level she bowed her head, "Good night Sir Tuck, Sir Fenton. I hope you rest well."

She flew off just as Tucker waved Jack forward. After a few seconds of silence, the elder Fenton couldn't help but ask, "Sir Tuck, huh?" He wagged an eyebrow amusingly, "I noticed that when they try and be proper, they use Danny and Sam's last names. Why not yours?"

Tucker gave a small, genuine laugh, "Well, Dora's a lot more laid back and _usually_ uses our first names in private... she just keeps it formal in front of her subjects. She's gotta act the part of the 'regal leader', ya know?" He shrugged, "I've been trying for years to get the rest of them to just call me Tucker, but they don't want to be disrespectful. Sir Tuck is as close as I've gotten so far... _Still better than the Far Frozen_."

Jack nodded. Tucker had mumbled the last part, and the elder Fenton wasn't quite sure he was _supposed_ to hear it, so he resisted the urge to comment. Instead, he focused on taking in his surrounding as they walked the rest of the way in an almost awkward silence, and it wasn't long before they had reached their destination.

The ghost knight that had been in the great hall earlier was now standing guard, feet planted firm and back toward the windowed wall. His hands rested loosely on the hilt of a large, ancient looking sword that he had turned blade down, so that the tip was seated against the floor. The ghost hunter almost thought he looked like an old, worn statue, even with the faint glowing of his aura. He made Jack a little uneasy, to be completely honest, but he did his best to squash that knee-jerk reaction before it got out of hand.

Tucker nodded toward the ghost and whispered, "Hey Honorbound. What's going on?"

"Sir Tuck," The ghost bowed his head slightly, and was obviously trying to keep his voice low, "And Lord Fenton. I have volunteered, and thus been tasked with keeping watch this night so that you and yours may rest undisturbed."

"Guard duty, huh?" The techno-geek chuckled, and gave the sturdy spectral knight a pat on the arm, "That sucks."

Honorbound looked taken aback, mouth hanging open slightly, "With all due respect, my Lord, it does not... _suck._ It is my honor _._ I gladly wield my sword to protect you all with my afterlife."

"Come on dude, we're in _Dora's_ kingdom. It's pretty much the safest place in the Zone... well, next to the Far Frozen, anyway. The _only_ trouble she ever has is when Aragon gets a stick up his ass, and when was the last time he showed up?"

"Aye, we are quite fortuitous to be in Lady Dorathea's good graces..." The ghost admitted with a gentle smile. He nodded at one of the couches to direct their attention toward sleeping form of Maddie Fenton, tucked loosely under a light blanket, "...but things are hardly normal in the Infinite Realms as of late. While you, Lady Manson, and the young Sir Fenton are quite capable of handling yourself in times of crisis, you are not alone this time. There are many here who need to be defended in the event of a disaster, and it is not fair to always rely on you three, or even lady Dorathea for protection and guidance." He cleared his throat and flushed slightly, "And Lady Fenton admirably refused to sleep for so long, diligently keeping watch herself. I have taken up the task in her stead."

Tucker smiled, "I'm telling ya, it's gonna be fine. What's the worst that could happen?"

The ghost almost seemed to pale as he raised a brow and clenched his sharpened teeth nervously, "Sir Tuck, perhaps you should refrain from making such assumptions..."

The teen in question narrowed his teal green eyes to glare at the nervous knight, "Why?"

"Er... well..."

"Oh, Jesus, not you too!" Tucker hissed, taking a deep breath, "For the love of... I am not ' _Bad Luck Tuck'!"_

The ghost stood at attention, and brought one hand up to wave meekly, "Of course not, my Lord!"

"Ugh, I'm gonna kill Danny and Sam." He turned on his heel and trudged tiredly toward the door to his quarters, "G'night Mr. F. See ya later, Honorbound… tell Wisp I said hi."

"I will do so, Sir Tuck. Rest well."

Jack watched as Tucker made his retreat, briefly wondering who 'Wisp' could be. With a name like that, it was probably just another ghost, though it was another one absent from Tucker's files.

He let out a sigh, and inspected the room around him.

Maddie was sitting near upright on the end of one couch, one hand hanging loosely off the armrest, the other hidden beneath the think blanket that was draped across her shoulders. The way it laid suggested that she hadn't pulled it there herself, and Jack was fairly certain the ghost knight had taken the initiative to try and make her more comfortable. Again, it was the type of consideration he wouldn't have thought possible from the ecto-beings before.

He scratched the back of his head tiredly… he sure was learning a lot tonight. He just wished it would have been under better circumstances.

Three of the four bedrooms had their doors cracked, and taking a quick peek inside revealed that the girls had taken one room, the boys another, and Lancer the third. He assumed that the Princess had meant for Jack and Maddie to be in there as well, but neither Fenton would feel comfortable letting their guard down that much quite yet.

The forth room must have been Danny, Sam and Tuckers private quarters, and Jack resisted the urge to peek in there as well. The three of them had been such lifelong friends, he wasn't worried about the type of shenanigans that most parents over-reacted about, and he really wanted to show that he was willing to trust them about everything else. Plus, he definitely didn't want to wake his son if he was sleeping... God knew that the boy needed it.

He glanced wearily toward the other sofa, knowing full well that it was unlikely he'd actually be able to fall asleep. His brain was too wired up with new information and unanswered questions... he was actually surprised that Maddie had dozed off herself. His brain entertained the idea of betrayal by the ghost for a few seconds before he internally scolded himself.

"Er... forgive me Lord Fenton..."

Jack had been so distracted by his musings that he jumped at the unexpected intrusion, and turned toward the nervous ghost knight that had just spoken.

"I'm sorry, but..." Honorbound waved a few fingers toward Jack's head, and continued, "I couldn't help but notice the bit of blood on your bandages. The others have all had an opportunity to clean themselves, and take care of any injuries they sustained during your unfortunate journey..."

"Sam has the bandages in her bag, I think." Jack replied, eyeing the ghost cautiously, "I don't want to go in there and wake them up."

"Of course not, my Lord. There is a washroom down the hall that is quite well stocked... and while I would wager the water has gone cold by now, there should be a basin still prepped for you if you wish to wash."

It took a moment for Jack to realize what the ghost was implying, "Well stocked? With bandages and stuff? Why? Do ghosts usually have to patch themselves up like we do?" It was an honest question, and Jack hadn't meant for it to sound as accusing as it had.

"Not always in the same way that you yourself might, but depending on our injuries..." The ghost nodded, having apparently taken no offense, "Though the bandages I speak of have been stocked by Lady Manson herself."

Jack gave a slow nod, absorbing the information. Some ghosts sustained injuries that actually needed treatment of some kind other than their natural regenerative abilities... that was something he had never really considered before. He'd always assumed that if the damage was _that_ bad, their ectoplasm would become too unstable and they'd simply cease to exist. It all suddenly put a lot of their assumptions and experiments into perspective and deep down he felt a twinge of regret bubble to the surface.

And now that he'd heard that the bandages belonged to Sam, it only cemented his suspicion that Danny and his friends were no stranger to getting hurt in their adventuring, especially after their attitudes so far. He couldn't help but wonder just how many times Danny may have needed serious medical treatment, and all the excuses he must have come up with to hide it from them. His heart sank as he realized just how little they must have paid attention to his children's wellbeing… he was a terrible father.

The ecto-entity cocked his head to one side, giving the human beside him a concerned look. Jack shook off his unsettling thoughts with a low grunt, "Thanks gho... er... Honorbound, right?"

The ghost nodded and gave a wide grin, "That is correct, Lord Fenton. I am glad to be of assistance."

"Uh... Jack."

"Excuse me, my Lord?"

"Drop the 'Lord' nonsense... just call me Jack."

Honorbound looked uneasy at that, but seemed to think deeply on the idea before replying, "I will try to remember to do so Lord Fe... uh, ehem, Sir Jack."

Jack couldn't help the small smile that crept across his face, thinking back to his earlier conversation with Tucker, "It's a start I guess."  
***

Cold... too cold. And dark. It was like swimming in thick, black ink.

It was hard to breath, like there was liquid in his lungs, and every breath took more and more effort. Still, he'd be able to manage if it wasn't so. Damn. Cold.

It was the type of cold that burned when you touched it. The type of cold that caused people to loose fingers and toes to frostbite in the dead of winter... and it was inside him, eating away until there would be nothing left. His Core pulsed violently, and surged with untamed power.

It hurt so much! Pain wrapped it's icy fingers around his heart and he tried to shove it away, tried to ignore it, but nothing worked.

Then suddenly he was awake, and he jerked forward with one hand pressed tightly to his chest. His brain felt numb, and at first he didn't recognize his surroundings. It took several long minutes of him panting helplessly against the darkness before he began to remember where he was and how he'd gotten there. Even then, however, the thoughts were a fleeting after image compared to the sharp, digging pain near his heart.

He winced, and turned his head to glance around the room. It wasn't completely dark—after all, there wasn't exactly a day and night cycle in the Ghost Zone—but without any lit torches the room was dim enough that he had to wait for his eyes to adjust...

Huh... ok... that, was weird.

He blinked his eyes a few times... he'd become so accustomed to his slightly heightened senses, that he'd almost forgotten what that felt like. Even in his ghost form he'd never had perfect night vision or anything like that of course—and he would always have to wipe the sleep from his eyes—but this was different. He hadn't struggled this much to see since he was fully human.

His core throbbed, and he gave an involuntary shudder. Carefully, he pulled the thin blanket tighter around his shoulders and folded his arms closer to his frame. His side protested painfully, but at the moment it was second to his aching chest. Whatever was going on was affecting him even more than before... It felt like there was ice in his veins.

Even when he'd first discovered his core had an element, it hadn't felt like this. Over the years he'd been electrocuted, blasted, beaten, cut, had his mid-morph DNA extracted (that had been a nightmare, but at least _someone_ good came from it…) and had numerous broken bones… but this was something completely else entirely.

The worst part wasn't even the pain, not really. It was the combination of _everything_ happening all at once. How the hell was he supposed to deal with any one part of this, let alone all of it together? The only other times he felt this _tested_ and worn out were during the Pariah Dark invasion, and the alternate timeline thing with _Dan_ , and in neither of those situations did he have to deal with a bunch of his classmates and parents following him around the Ghost Zone like lost puppies.

He'd also been able to actually use his powers without his core feeling like it was going to tear itself apart. That sure would be nice. He'd be sure to never take that for granted again.

Ugh… now he was in pain, _and_ worked up. Despite his exhaustion, there was no way he was going back to sleep any time soon.

Danny exhaled loudly in an attempt to stifle another groan as he sat all the way up and dragged his feet off the edge of the couch. He hesitantly poked and prodded at his side, even going as far as peeling back the bandages to take a closer look, and was relieved to see the majority of the open wound had already scabbed over and had stopped bleeding. It would be entirely too easy to jar it back open, but it was progress. Even with his screwed up powers there was no doubt that being in the Ghost Zone where he could subconsciously absorb the energy was helping immensely.

Replacing the bandages as best he could, he took a deep breath. That lead to a sharp pain that told him his ribs were still all kinds of messed up, but it was tolerable… he'd had broken ribs before, and could deal. Still, he found himself thankful for his half-ghost speed healing. He couldn't imagine what this would feel like to normal people like Sam and Tucker... it made him upset just to think about it.

He looked up and scanned the room for his friends. Sam was on the bed, curled up with her arms wrapped around a large, fluffy pillow. For a brief second he considered taking the pillow's place—he wanted to tuck himself in her embrace, her chest pressed against his back so that he could faintly feel her heartbeat and hear her soft, gentle breaths in his ear—but she was a relatively light sleeper and he didn't want to wake her. Not to mention he had a feeling how cold he must be at the moment, and even though she wouldn't object, he really didn't think she'd be comfortable hugging a human shaped icicle.

He sighed, and then shifted his gaze until he found Tucker. The techno-geek had fallen asleep tucked in a little reading nook that was seated in one of the windows, a thick blanket wrapped around him with his tablet in his lap. His head was tilted and pressed gently against the window, mouth hanging open slightly in a light snore. No doubt he'd been working on _something_ or other… he always was like that.

Danny gave a faint smile… they'd all fallen asleep in strange places more than once or twice. Dora had offered a long time ago to give them their own rooms, but there wasn't really any reason for that. The posted bed was big enough for the three of them to comfortably share without feeling awkward, and they'd been through enough together that they were hardly embarrassed about the close proximity, but they still had their preferred places to just crash. The window nook happened to be Tucker's… he'd usually stay up later than Sam or Danny anyway, and said he liked the view.

The half-ghost wondered just how long he'd been out. It was hard to tell time in the Zone, but he had a feeling it had been at least a few hours. In all honesty, he didn't even really remember falling asleep.

His pushed to his feet and dragged his blanket up with him, keeping it securely wrapped around his shoulders. His chest still ached, but he hoped a bit of movement would help him shrug it off. A quick walk to try and warm up and check up on things probably wouldn't hurt anyway.

A few seconds later he found himself in the foyer, and was a little surprised to see his mom on one of the couches, her hood down and goggles off. She was asleep, and that was at least a bit of a relief… he didn't really feel like answering any questions or being fawned over at the moment. He assumed his dad and the others were in the bedrooms.

He turned away and approached the ever vigilant ghost standing on the opposite side of the room, "Hey, Honorbound."

"Sir Phantom." The ghost whispered as he bowed slightly, "I'm glad to see you looking better…"

Danny visibly cringed at the slip up, but decided to ignore it since it didn't look like anyone was awake to hear it. He rubbed the back of his neck, hunched over slightly because he still had his blanket with him and didn't want to lose it, "Yeah, I guess. Hey, listen, I'm going for a walk. Don't let anyone freak out if they wake up and I'm not here."

The ghost almost looked like he wanted to stop him, but Danny could already feel his mood slipping, and sent him a challenging look that ensured any protest would die out in silence. Instead Honorbound just nodded, curling his fingers nervously around the hilt of his sword. He tilted his head to watch as Danny shuffled away and down the hall toward Dora's room.

Danny took the time as he walked to try and calm his nerves, but now that he was awake and moving his mind had begun to race. He knew that even though they were safe with Dora at the moment, they'd still have to find a way to get everyone safely home, and he wasn't in the best shape to be leading a large group of defenseless humans through a few of the more dangerous territories of the Zone. Then there was the fact that once they got back home, he still had to figure out some kind of story to placate everyone. Thankfully graduation was soon, and he'd never have to really deal with the majority of his classmates again, so he'd be able to get over the strange looks and gossipy whispers.

His parents were another matter. He was going to have to tell them the truth. He had planned to anyway, but not like this... Not under these circumstances. He'd pictured maybe taking them to the park or something to explain the situation—after all, telling your ghost hunter parents you were a ghost in an anti-ghost equipped home was probably not the safest bet… you know, just in case—Jazz would be there, and Sam and Tucker would be on speed dial in case things went wrong.

Deep down he reminded himself that after the initial shock, everything should be fine... or as close to fine as he could hope to expect. They had found out the truth before, and it had worked out both times… even if they couldn't remember now.

But the situations had been so different, and he still couldn't help the surge of fear that bubbled up at the very thought of telling them.

In both of those alternate reality situations, there hadn't really been time for them to settle and _really_ think about the implications that came with the whole ' _half-dead, sorta, maybe_?' thing. Both times the truth came out it was almost _immediately_ undone. They were going to freak out... they _should_ freak out. Hell, he'd come to _love_ being what he was, but _every_ once and a while on the days where his mind would wander to a darker place, _he_ still freaked out about it. Breaking it down was just a confusing mess:

After all, he was dead... right? No, that wasn't really true.

The accident killed him... Then it didn't. Or something along those lines.

He was a ghost, but still a living human too.

He had a heart and a pulse—albeit an unnaturally slow one—but also a core, and ectoplasmic energy.

There was ectoplasm in his blood, and vise-verse.

He didn't necessarily have to change to use his powers, but it helped, though he'd never done something like his wail in his human form. He'd wanted to get around to trying it, but had a feeling it would _wreck_ his lungs and be nowhere near powerful enough to really matter.

Oh, yeah, there was also the fact that he was pretty positive he had a ghostly obsession buried deep down in his subconscious. Try explaining that one.

How do you just accept the fact that your son is a half-dead freak that's been lying to you for so long? Especially with all the collateral damage and death defying stunts over the years… not to mention the whole 'hunting' thing.

Yeah, that still kinda mattered too, he supposed. He knew he shouldn't be annoyed or angry with them— _he_ was the one who kept it all secret—but every once and a while he couldn't help but resent the fact that his own parents hunted him. They didn't recognize him as they chased and shot and cursed... It was such a stupid, immature way to think, but still... being told by your own dad that he wants to rip you apart ' _molecule by molecule_ ' sort of leaves a lasting impression.

Danny suddenly realized his disposition was plummeting, and he let out an annoyed growl. One hand went up to rub his sternum groggily, and he shook his head, "Dammit, calm the hell down Danny… one thing at a time."

He noticed a large, open door that lead to the balcony and decided on a whim to go outside. Maybe a view of the gardens would clear his head.

He approached the stone banister and leaned forward, looking to the thick growth of strange looking plants below. Some looked like normal earth flowers and shrubs, while others were completely alien. Dark, flowering vines twisted themselves up and around the deck below him, and he desperately tried to find them interesting enough to keep his attention.

Unfortunately between his souring mood and the dull ache in his chest he found it hard to concentrate. He clenched his fingers around the rocky railing, leaning heavily against it to support his weight as he focused on his core… maybe he could try and manipulate his powers just enough to ease the pain. He closed his eyes and internally pulled at that usually soothing, swirling spark of cold energy…

"Danny?"

The half-ghost jerked, spinning on his heel to see who'd managed to sneak up behind him.

He wasn't expecting the stone under his feet to be slick, and he definitely wasn't expecting to slip.

He let out a startled yelp as he tumbled, landing hard on his tailbone and smacking his brow against the railing. One arm stretched to catch himself too late, while the other went to grip his forehead, "Son of a bitch!"

"Oh my!" He felt two airy, slender hands wrap themselves around his shoulder and he cracked his eyes open. Dora hovered a few inches above him, crimson irises wide and staring down at him in concern, "I apologize! I did not mean to startle you!"

Danny groaned and shook his head, "No, I'm fine, I just…" He paused, suddenly aware at how cold the stone was beneath his palm. He scrunched his brow and glanced down.

The balcony surrounding him was covered in a thin, glistening layer of light blue ice. Tracing it with his eyes he could see that it formed where his hands had been nestled on the balcony, then slowly crept to pool out beneath his feet, "What…?"

"Are you alright?" Dora questioned, hands still planted firmly on his shoulders. Her voice wavered with concern, "Should I get Sam, or Tucker?"

This snapped Danny out of his confusion, and he turned to face her. His hand migrated from his forehead to scratch at the back of his neck, "Er... No. Dora, I'm ok... I think."

She gave a sigh of relief, and helped him to his feet before taking the time to glance curiously at the shimmering ice around them, "I know that I've told you that you are more than welcome in my kingdom to... _chill out,_ as Tucker would say, but this isn't quite what I had in mind."

Danny felt his cheeks flush, and he let out a weak chuckle, "Yeah, well... That was awful, Dora."

A faint smirk pulled at the corner of her lips, and she raised a brow, "Really? That's so hurtful. I did not expect you to be so _cold_ to me."

Danny groaned, but couldn't help the small grin that broke across his face, "Ok, ok, I get it... nice one."

"I thought so too." She smiled warmly, but the apprehension she had for her friend's well-being was clear as day on her face, "It is still quite early... are you sure you don't want to get more rest?"

The halfa sighed, and turned back to glance out into the shifting, hazy horizon of the ever changing Ghost Zone. His shoulders slumped as he once again slouched against the railing "I couldn't really sleep. Er, sorry about the ice, by the way, I was trying to… well, I don't really know what I was trying to do, I guess. My powers are all… ugh. I'll get rid of it in a bit."

The princess frowned as she mimicked his posture, "No harm done. I have time… would you like to talk?"

Danny took a few seconds of silence to consider the offer as he rubbed gingerly at the slowly forming bump on his forehead, "Yeah, actually… that might be nice."  
***

The ghost had absolutely been right about the water having cooled down, but Jack had taken cold baths and showers before, so it was far from unbearable. Having a chance to wipe away all the grime and blood—some of it his son's, he chillingly reminded himself—was just short of invigorating, Fatigue and temperature be damned.

Though, he really wished the basin was just a bit bigger. His large frame and tired joints did not fold well into tight places… not that this was the first time he didn't quite fit somewhere, but he was still sure his knees would be achy in the morning.

He'd been thinking over all the new tidbits of information he'd gathered on the ghosts listed in Tucker's tablet. Most of them were pretty regular occurrences in town and he'd recognized them fairly easily... though now he had actual names rather than the one's he'd made up for them. Ghosts like Technus, The Lunch Lady, Box Ghost and even Skulker were all too familiar, and tons of people in their haunted little city had regular run in's with one or more of them.

But there had been some detailed information on a handful of far more obscure—and definitely more dangerous—ecto-entities that even managed to make _his_ skin crawl. Ghosts like Overgrowth—who nearly enslaved the entire town—or that Nocturne monster… how do you win against your own dreams and nightmares? How had the three teenagers gotten close enough or familiar enough to gather that intel? Tucker had a small bit denoting that it'd been Phantom that saved the day—so maybe he had helped them—but it lacked quite a bit of exposition on the how and when of things.

That was another oddity... almost all of them shared similar notations. Little tidbits on power levels and weaknesses, and how many times they'd been beaten and chucked back into the zone. Phantom was an all too common factor.

He was the most notorious Ghost of all, but there was almost _nothing_ in the notes about him... though he supposed he could chalk that up to the fact that Tucker may not have considered him a threat, and therefore kept those particular files separate—after all, he _had_ said the only files he'd shared so far were on the ' _bad guy's_ '.

Phantom was an enigma... at first he'd been a regular nuisance, and caused his fair share of grief. He'd always been insistent that he was a 'hero', and over time his deeds eventually seemed to reflect that—not that Jack had ever listened—how many times had he spouted threats of capture or dissection?

It wasn't until the Disastroid that he'd been willing to give the ghost kid the benefit of the doubt.

Phantom had won the town over long before the incident, and since the news of their impending doom had been so greatly covered, the entire world had heard of his deeds. Even now, people came from all over to tour the town and try and catch a glimpse of the elusive specter.

Some of the attention was good, and some of it was bad. New and inexperienced ghost hunters sometimes made an appearance, but usually with a bit of hassling from themselves or the Red Huntress, the eventually ended up leaving well enough alone. If they still didn't listen, the ghosts eventually set them straight… though not always peacefully.

The popularity wasn't exactly unearned… the planet would have been completely screwed had Phantom not stepped up to the plate and put himself in real danger to prevent the apocalyptic disaster. That asteroid could have completely destroyed him and every other ghost he'd convinced to help, and there honestly wouldn't have been anyone left to remember them.

The whole situation is what shifted Jack's world upside down, and really caused him to look back at his own actions and priorities. He knew that Maddie felt the same, even if she had a harder time expressing it.

There was something else though, something that gnawed at the back of his brain and begged him to ' _think_!' Something he wasn't seeing—something about the ghosts, and the incident—something about...

Phantom had saved the world, yes... but the meteor hadn't been the only threat.

"Vlad." The name left a bitter taste in Jack's mouth, and he almost hadn't realized he'd spoken it aloud until it echoed eerily back at him.

Phantom had helped stop Vlad in all his comic book style villainy.

Vlad, who had been a ghost all that time, living among them like a human.

Jack knew _something_ about that wasn't right. He'd seen Vlad get sick, seen him get hungry, thirsty, and need to use the restroom. He'd seen Vlad bleed, and breath and _live_ like no ghost ever could.

Yet he wasn't overshadowed or mind controlled...No, he was something else entirely. Something far more dangerous.

There weren't any files on Vlad in Tucker's notes. Maybe that meant the teenagers hadn't known either... but with how many times Phantom and the Wiscon... er... Plasmius... had gone head to head in Amity Park, he couldn't help but doubt that. Once again he concluded that there must have been information deliberately hidden from him... but _why_?

There were still so many missing facts, but Jack was _certain_ the answers were staring him right in the face, mocking him as he struggled to make sense of things.

He wished there would have been _something..._ maybe he'd ask the kids about it directly... hell, maybe Danny and his friends knew Phantom personally, and could introduce him. Maybe then he'd get his answers.

...That was a strange thought that left an equally strange feeling in stomach. His gut told him that Phantom was somehow a very important piece to several different puzzles at once.

Jack let out an involuntary shiver, and decided that it'd been long enough. His brain was tired, and his legs were starting to cramp up in the confined space.

He dried himself off, then frowned when he realized he'd have to wear the same filthy jumpsuit as before. Quickly and carefully he wiped it down, removing as much of the blood and muck as possible before dressing. The mirror on the wall revealed the dark bags under his eyes, and he gave a quiet sigh. All the more evidence that it was time to return to the others and get a couple hours of shut eye.

The cut on his head was still tender, and found himself surprised at the lack of a concussion, but he chalked it up to Fenton luck and decided to accept it thankfully. He cleaned it with some disinfectant he'd found stuffed away in a cabinet, then re-bandaged his head just in case it decided to start bleeding again. He'd have Maddie or Sam look at it when everyone was awake and chipper.

He left the bathroom and began his trek down the hallway, moving slowly as an excuse to give himself more time to mull over his thoughts. The only sounds that caught his ears were the faint crackle of the lit torches, and the soft thumps of his boots against the weathered stone. Green hued shadows danced their way across the walls, and the air was thick, but cool. He didn't think he could ever feel completely safe in the Zone—it just didn't feel _right..._ like he didn't quite belong _—_ but he didn't feel threatened at the moment. He wondered how long it had taken Danny and his friends to acclimate as well as they had, because they certainly didn't seem too uncomfortable.

"I don't know what to do..."

The words had been quiet, and Jack might have missed it if he weren't walking along as calmly as he had been. He jerked his head around toward the familiar voice.

Danny's voice.

"They obviously love you very much... of that I am certain."

That was the ghost Princess, Dora... Jack moved as quietly as possible, hiding himself in a shadow just beside the doorway to the balcony. They were both speaking just above a whisper, obviously thinking they had their privacy.

"I know, I know... but..." His son gave a frustrated groan, "They don't really know me… not anymore, anyway. I haven't really been the save Danny I used to be since the _accident_."

Jack had almost made his presence known. He had almost felt guilty about eavesdropping. Until that word came tumbling out of his son's mouth. He'd have to accept the consequences and apologize later if need be, but this was too important to just interrupt. He held his breath, and listened even more intently to the unfolding conversation.

"They might be a little... ignorant..." Her voice was tense, as if she wasn't sure of her own choice of words, "But ignorance is only dangerous if you refuse to _learn_ from it. They seem willing! Neither has shown me a great unkindness..."

"Are you kidding? My mom pointed a gun at you!" He paused, "Then all the stuff she said at dinner… Oh man, I'm really sorry Dora."

She gave a slight chuckle, "No worries. You were hurt, and she was worried over you. I'm not going to hold a grudge against a scared mother."

"You're too nice."

"I think that may be a trait that you and I share. But it's a good one to have I think... I'd rather be too nice than too cruel."

"Sometimes I wonder..." His tone was lighthearted, but there was a thin fog of sadness to those words.

The two sat in relative silence for several long seconds, and Jack risked leaning forward a bit to try and observe them more closely.

Danny was hunched heavily on the balcony's banister, a thin blanket draped loosely over his shoulders. He was wearing on old pair of gray sweatpants...

That's when Jack noticed that his son was standing on a thin patch of bluish white ice, completely barefoot. Small, misty clouds of cold swirled around his ankles and dissipated into the air, and he seemed completely oblivious to the fact that he should be freezing. In fact, he seemed comfortable with his feet firmly planted in the frost.

Dora, on the other hand, looked like she was trying to avoid the ice. She was hovering a few inches off the ground and staying well enough away from the bits on the balcony.

The eldest Fenton was completely stupefied, and couldn't bring himself to do anything but watch and listen.

"What should I do? It's all happening at once, and I can't deal with it right now..." Danny folded forward even further, dropping his head in a sharp angle so that he could wrap both hands around the back of his neck. He let out an entirely too vulnerable groan, "God, Dora, everything hurts."

Even from his hiding place, Jack could see the way the ghost's face shifted in worry as she gently wrapped one arm around his shoulder in a gesture of comfort. "Lord Frostbite sent out many of his warriors when he found out you were missing, and a group of them are coming here."

"Frostbite knew we were missing?" Danny's head tilted slightly to look up at her, but Jack still couldn't really see the expression on his face. The way his voice lilted up suggested he was a little surprised, but happy for the news.

"Perhaps you and your parents should go with them to the Far Frozen. You are not well... and they have the best means to help you recover. They may even know more about what Freakshow intended to do to you… It would also give you the opportunity to talk to your mother and father in private."

"I can't do that! What about all the others? I've got to get them back home!"

"Why?" Dora questioned curiously.

Danny stiffened, and cocked his head further to the side, "What do you mean, _why_? I can't just leave them here in the Zone!"

"No, I mean, why must it be _you_ that gets them back? I will gladly lend my aid and protection, and surely Sam and Tucker are perfectly capable of escorting them to your portal." She almost sounded angry, "I understand your eagerness to protect your town, and keep them all safe. I myself feel that way over my kingdom and it's citizens… but there is no shame in needing help from time to time. Especially when you are ill or hurt."

Danny turned away again and slumped further, shaking his head before running a few fingers through his bangs, "I have to... Amity is my home."

"You are a great hero, my friend, but even you can only do so much. You should not always be the one that suffers for the sake of protecting others. I fear that one of these days the suffering will be too great."

"Dora..."

"I do not mean this to sound harsh, but death is an unpleasant experience. You should not be so eager to skirt it's embrace so closely."

At that, Danny barked a single, sharp laugh, "I'm going to ignore the fact that we're not even sure that applies to me anymore, and dive right into the question of: Do you really think I want to go through that _again?"_

That was the statement that broke Jack's willpower, and he found himself stifling a loud gasp before he could stop himself, " _What?"_

His son yanked himself away from the railing with enough force to cause him to stagger as he snapped his head around toward his father. A brief moment of confusion crossed his features before his eyes widened in a mix of apprehension and fear, " _Dad!?"_

Jack could have sworn that Danny's eyes had flashed green for a few seconds, but it had to be a trick of the light…

Unfortunately, he didn't get a chance to question it, or Danny's statement, because in the distance a large explosion rang out.

* * *

 **Authors notes:** Thanks again guys! Don't forget to leave me a review to let me know what you think!


	8. Chapter 8

**Authors note:**

Hello all... s'been a while, I know. Sorry about that. I've been going through a few things in real life that have left me exhausted and very, frustratingly busy. Anyone who follows on my Tumblr knows what's been going on, so if you really want a more detailed explanation for my absence, feel free to check it out (Address in my profile...)

On a happier note... I get to be married in 15 days. Yay me!

This chapter is a bit shorter than my usual fare, and in all actuality, should have been one more scene longer... but I really wanted to get something up and posted to prove I'm not dead and haven't abandoned any of my stories. This one was just easier for me to update first. I'm going to try and focus this weekend on getting things back on track with both of them.

oh, and to the guest asking about Danny's age...

I made Danny 17 because they state that he was 14 when he got his powers, freshmen year. They never state when his birthday is, or just how early in the year he got his powers (before school started, or at the beginig of the year or what)... so I took some liberties and just kinda went with this : 14 (freshmen) 15 (sophomore) 16(junior) 17(senior).

I knew several people who didn't turn 18 until after they graduated... so *shrug*

Anywhooots. Enjoy!

* * *

CHAPTER EIGHT

"Where is it?"

It was rage made vocal despite the missing mouth. An emotion that usually wasn't _observed_ so blatantly coming from one of _them._

The thought made Clockwork's lips curl into a small smirk. His mind was coming up with puns now. How quaint.

The ancient ghost glowered up at him, bony fingers curling tightly around that accursed staff. The hint of humor melted from Clockwork's face as he eyed the troublesome artifact with disdain. That gruesome object was the _only_ reason he found himself in this current predicament. It's tiresome master may have thought itself all powerful, but would do well to realize that without the staff, this little rebellion would have ended long ago.

He felt his form shift from bearded old man to toddler, and he turned his head away to act as if he hadn't heard the question.

The staff was rapped against the glowing green barrier between them, sending a cascade of crackling sparks that seared away against Clockwork's subdued aura.

Another shift occurred, this time to the shape of a middle aged man. He cocked his head and sported a blank look as he stated flatly, "You'll have to be more precise."

"The thermos, Clockwork!"

"What thermos?" His voice lilted innocently, though there was a snide twinkle in his blood red eyes.

"You are in no position to play your usual games."

"I wouldn't dream of it."

Another shower of sparks. Another shift in forms. Clockwork almost winced as his aura dimmed further, the embers of energy burning away at his ectoplasm. Instead, he donned a mask of indifference, unwilling to give the mad ghost before him the satisfaction of seeing his discomfort.

"You must know where it is! You know everything that will come to pass!"

Clockwork turned away, "Not as I am now, I don't. You made sure of that, didn't you?"

"You are insufferable!"

"And you are playing with forces you have _never_ understood."

"Do not forget who it is you serve!"

This time, instead of the quick angry tap, the staff was pressed firmly against the barrier, and sparks turned to neon bolts. Clockwork's form flickered unstably as a rush of power ripped through him. A pained gasp escaped his lips, but he refused to shirk away. He may have been severely weakened in his present state... but he was the guardian of the time-lines _._ His very existence demanded reverence. This broken creature would not be allowed to deny him his purpose for long. He only need _bide his time._

Heh... another pun. Maybe he _was_ spending too much time watching over his mortal charge.

Gathering what strength he could muster, he forced a shift to his middle aged form and drew himself to his full size to glare menacingly down at his captor. His aura flared violently, "I am not a dog you may whip to fuel your own twisted ego. I am not a human, who will cower fearfully at your pathetic presence. I am the master of time itself! I am the closest thing to a God you will ever lay your eye on. Do _not_ patronize me. I remember quite well _what_ it is I serve. _Do you?_ "

The staff was hastily pulled away as it's owner's confidence wilted. The crystal among it's branches had been pulsing angrily, but now it faded to a dull green as the bolts of raw energy ceased.

Clockwork snickered, narrowing his eyes dangerously despite the fact that he currently lacked the ability to truly act on his threats, "Tell me... where are your brothers?"

Several long seconds of silence passed between the two before the lanky, cloaked figure outside the elevated containment cell seemed to regain it's senses. It dragged it's fingers nervously up and down the wooden staff before squaring it's slender shoulders and gliding back a few feet. It chose to ignore the question, "As you wish, Clockwork. Refuse to cooperate if you must, it truly matters not. It wasn't necessary to my plans... It was simply a distraction. Soon I will have my Catalyst, and all will be as it should be."

Clockwork continued to tower over the ghost, the ticking of the various timepieces that made up his ethereal form echoing loudly across the chamber, "Even with your rather... _limited..._ point of view, you know as well as I do that _nothing_ is as it should be... but there _is_ still time to fix this mess. _I_ can fix this mess. Destroy that abomination you carry and return to me my staff."

This only seemed to relight the flames of the other ghost's anger, and it hastily delivered another rain of sparks against the prisoner. This time, Clockwork couldn't help but wince, as he growled out an exasperated groan.

"You have already been allowed to meddle and stray from your assigned task far too freely. You should have been leashed long ago. Know your place!"

"Oh, I know my place quite well, and I have never strayed from my purpose." Clockwork murmured darkly, "I'm curious… How does it _feel_ to break your oath so thoroughly?"

***  
Valerie's eyes snapped open, as she shot straight up in the bed and turned her gaze toward the large, gothic window to her left. She thought she had heard some kind of commotion in the distance.

She hadn't been sleeping, of course… how could she? Danny and his friends may have insisted they were somewhere safe... but she knew better. _Nowhere_ was safe. Especially here. Especially in the Zone.

She was trapped deep inside a ghost's lair. She was in enemy territory.

They were all just evil pieces of...

No.

She caught her breath as a sudden image of Danielle flashed into her mind, distracting her from her original line of thought. Playful green eyes that were sometimes blue. Wispy, wavy white hair that was sometimes black. A smile that could even brighten the ghost hunter's day, and make her forget just how tired she was.

Dani was a ghost. Dani wasn't evil. Dani was her friend... right? She came to visit with Valerie on a semi-regular basis, and they'd certainly grown accustom to one another over the years. Hell, it had been Valerie that taught Dani how to apply makeup. She had taught a _ghost_ how to wear makeup! How could that be _evil?_

And then there was Phantom to consider.

Phantom still stirred an old, deep rooted river of rage through her heart, and she narrowed her eyes in the darkness...

He had saved the world. He had left her alone. He never once tried to _actually_ hurt her, despite all their altercations over the years. Sure, he'd _act_ like he was defending himself... but she'd seen what he could do when he was being serious. She'd seen what he could do when he really, truly wanted to cause some damage. When it came to her... when it came to their encounters... he was all banter and no bite. No malice. No danger… even when she had really tried to destroy him.

And he was Dani's cousin.

Mrs. Fenton had said earlier that ghosts couldn't... er... shouldn't really have families... but she _knew_ that Dani and Phantom were related. Dani had told her so. Dani wouldn't lie to her. The Fentons were smart, sure, but they made mistakes all the time. Valerie would definitely take Dani's word over theirs.

Phantom had saved the world. Dani wasn't evil. That meant that not _all_ ghosts were bad...

But Dani wasn't a typical ghost, was she? She was... she was whatever _Vlad_ was.

Vlad _was_ evil.

She had to keep reminding herself to focus. She had a job to do. A purpose. She hunted ghosts. She saved people... She couldn't afford to let her guard down. She _wouldn't_ let her guard down.

But...

Ever since Dani... ever since the Disastroid there had been a single, persistent nagging in the back of her head.

Her thoughts were on a constant repeat. They were a playlist that looped over and over in her mind. Dani wasn't a normal ghost, and if she was telling the truth, if she _was_ related to Phantom...

That meant he wasn't either. That meant he could change. He could look—be?—human.

And whenever she tried to imagine what he would look like... whenever she would think about what _human_ Danielle's older cousin might look like...

A chill went down her spine, and she shivered involuntarily.

She had a suspicion... but whenever she thought about it too long it would make her nauseous. She would shove that unpleasant thought deep in the recesses of her mind, force it back beneath all her anger and hate.

White to black. Green to blue—No. She would hide that image away, and pretend it didn't exist.

Because it couldn't be true. It was impossible.

She didn't want it to be true.

A distant blast echoed and she shook herself from her distracted haze, shifting to autopilot. She went to yank the covers off her legs, but in the process realized that she was pinned beneath the tight blanket. There was another body beside her, latched to her arm.

She'd forgotten about them. She'd forgotten she wasn't alone.

She couldn't help the scowl that crossed her face.

She muttered a very inappropriate curse, just as Star's eyes blinked groggily open. Long blond strands of hair shifted as the thin, pale cheerleader rolled to her back to stare up at her in concern, "Valerie? Are you ok?"

Valerie's face softened slightly at her classmate's soft tone. Years ago Star had been her best friend. Years ago they had been inseparable.

Then things happened—ghost things—and Star abandoned her. Star was more afraid of ruining her reputation, and of Paulina, than she was of losing Valerie.

That had hurt.

But when senior year came, it seemed like her old friend had regretted her past actions. Paulina's iron grip on her had broken away once she'd been gifted a scholarship to a very good school. It also helped that she and Kwan had started dating. The two were good for each other. Both of them had matured, realizing that being cruel wasn't really their way. They didn't like being feared. Deep down, they were really nice people that were just following for the sake of following...

And they didn't need to do that anymore.

So while the other A-listers continued their reign of terror, the two of them began distancing themselves. They were still popular, and still a bit smug and snobby...

But Valerie couldn't remember the last time Kwan had picked on geek. She couldn't remember the last time Star had implied that someone was ugly because they were slightly overweight.

She couldn't remember the last time they smiled at someone else's misery.

They weren't perfect, of course... Kwan would let Dash get a little carried away before sheepishly pulling his friend away and suggesting that ' _hey, that dork isn't worth it, just leave him alone_ '... and Star wouldn't always speak up against Paulina, instead she'd roll her eyes and walk away, ignoring the Latino prep more often than others realized.

So no, not perfect... but it was a start.

And... well... Valerie had a very short supply of normal, human friends. Hell, she had a short supply of _any_ friends. If there was a chance, any chance at all that she and Star might rekindle some sort of relationship... she'd give the blond the benefit of the doubt.

She knew she couldn't get too close of course, her work was too dangerous. The Red Huntress was not well liked, and she refused to let someone else get hurt because of her lifestyle choice...

But God, was she lonely. Maybe that's why she was still going along with Danny's recently asinine behavior. Maybe that's why she hadn't just abandoned the group, donned her armor, and flown home for help. Maybe that's why she resisted the urge to become the Red Huntress and take control of the situation.

"Val..?" Star's hand went up to rub the crusts of sleep from her reddened eyes—probably a mix of exhaustion and the harsh atmosphere of the Ghost Zone—and she became slightly more aware, "What's wrong?"

Valerie shook her head, "Uh, nothing. Thought I heard something... didn't mean to wake you up."

Star stared up at her unconvinced, but before she could say anything else another explosion erupted.

This one was close enough to wake pretty much everyone, and several ghostly shouts echoed loudly from somewhere outside.

"What the hell was that?" Paulina's terrified voice bounded across the room from the couch she had settled into. She'd refused to share, and had insisted she be given the king sized bed all to herself because she needed her ' _beauty sleep.'_ Valerie had plopped herself down and stubbornly refused to let the pompous cheerleader get her way. Star eventually shrugged and lay down next to her, ignoring Paulina's whiny protests. It wasn't until Mrs. F. had barged into the room and demanded that they be quiet and rest that Paulina finally gave up.

Among protests from both the other girls, Valerie pulled herself free and stumbled off the other side of the bed so that she could look outside. She needed to know what they were up against.

She gasped loudly at the sight.

They were in trouble.  
***

"Dad?"

Jack watched as his son's face paled even further, eyes darting back and forth between his father and the direction the princess had hastily flown off after the explosion.

Panic—or something very near it—filled Danny's eyes to the brim as one hand gripped the railing tightly, knuckles white with strain against the ice beneath his palm. The other hand clutched tightly at the blanket draped across his shoulders, drawing it closed like a curtain as if to hide away as much of himself as possible.

"You were... you were _listening_?" His tone was a harsh, and his eyes hard. It was evident that he was still in pain, but it was second to the way his face contorted into mix of anger and betrayal, with a small dash of disbelief to top it off.

"Danny, I... what did you mean...?"

A second explosion interrupted, and his son's eyes flashed—quite literally—as he seemed to struggle internally with inaction. A silent decision was made, and seconds later he was darting away from Jack, following the balcony to run off in the same direction as his ghostly friend.

"What... no! Dammit!" The eldest Fenton swore—A very rare occurrence saved for the most desperate of times—and took off at full tilt after his son, "Danny, stop! Please!"

He was completely ignored. His son didn't even flinch as he continued running, but had brought one hand up to grip tightly at his side.

Jack breathed deeply, begging his legs to move faster, urging himself to catch up... How was Danny moving so fast? His injuries should have been hindering him far more than they were, or at least been some sort of obstacle. Danny had become more athletic the past couple years, sure, but he was never _this_ fast. He always lagged just a little bit behind; his C+ in gym class attested to that.

The elder Fenton watched as his son ducked hastily around a corner, and barreled around himself a few seconds later.

Only to nearly smack face first into a very solid stone wall. Danny was gone, nowhere to be seen. Jack fumbled around on his own two feet for a moment, unsure of what the hell was going on, "Danny!? Where are you?!"

A sudden, ear splitting screech sliced through the air above him, and his head jerked up just in time to catch the monstrous blue dragon he knew to be the Princess race through the Zone above him, faster than he would have assumed her bulk could ever allow. Several seconds later a dark, black shadow of a beast followed, and narrowing his eyes he quickly realized it was another ghostly dragon.

This one's scales were jet black, an opalescent sheen that reflected the green hazy light of the Ghost Zone like an oily mirror. It's leathery wings and underside were a deep purple—the color reminding him of Sam's lipstick—and it's horns and claws were neon green. As it circled around above him, Jack took notice that it was far more slender than Dora was, with it's neck easily twice as long, and gangly limbs compared to her thicker, stockier ones.

It let out a loud, angry roar that gave way to a stream of rushing blue flames. Smoke filled the air as Dora gave out a shriek, acrobatically turning herself at a sharp angle to meet the assault with her own, billowing green flames.

The black dragon stayed it's course, ignoring the hot, ghostly fire that kissed it's scales as it collided head on with it's adversary. Even among the growing sounds of battle surrounding him, Jack could hear the heavy thud of their bodies. Both glowing beasts wailed and fell, a messy tangled ball of claws and teeth, scratching and biting the whole way down.

The distraction was so great that Jack almost didn't notice the gang of grisly green skeletons that clambered and shambled their way up and over the railings from the gardens below... despite the danger, he couldn't help but feel like they belonged in one of those cheesy horror movies the kids liked so much. He briefly wondered why they didn't just fly, or phase through the floor, but shook the questions from his head as he realized that these ghosts definitely weren't friendly like Dora and her subjects. Maybe they just weren't that intelligent... maybe they acted as a hive mind. As interesting as it was, it really didn't matter for the time being.

He hastily scrambled for his weapon, a small ecto-gun that was nestled in his belt and fired toward the approaching apparitions. For each one that fell or stumbled back, two more seemed to hobble into the space left behind.

His eyes darted to the side, looking for any possible escape. Unfortunately, he had followed Danny straight into a dead end, and his only options seemed to be _through_ the approaching hoard, or up and over the balcony. He had no doubt that _that_ route would lead to at _least_ several broken bones—or worse—as he cast his glance to the grounds far below.

The sights and sounds of conflict rose up to meet him as he spied Dora's own knights and subjects raising arms against the undead swarms that had seemingly appeared from nowhere. Dora and the other dragon were smack dab in the middle of it, still tangled in an awkward, otherworldly wrestling match.

Jack cursed as a skeletal specter got a bit too close for comfort, and he fired an ecto-blast right between it's hollowed out eyes. It let out a gurgled moan as it fell back, and several of it's brethren climbed unconcerned over it's crumpled form.

"Dammit!" Jack was running out of space. There was only a few feet between him and the wall, and he was very close to being overrun. He took another shot, and another ghost fell.

That's when he felt a cold hand grip tightly to his arm from behind, and he spun on one heel in shock to bat away whatever evil piece of ectoplasmic scum had somehow flanked him.

The ghost in question quickly went intangible to avoid the blow, before snarling, "I am not an enemy, you idiot!"

"Who...?"

Before Jack could finish his sentence, he felt his feet leave stone as he was hoisted into the air with an embarrassingly startled cry.  
***

It was slightly embarrassing to admit that she had to be put in her place by an eighteen year old girl... But that's exactly what had happened when the chaos had begun. Maddie had turned her ire toward the knightly ghost that claimed only to want to protect them, accusing him of some type of trickery... after all, where were her son and husband? What kind of coincidence was it that trouble started _after_ they had disappeared?  
To his credit, Honorbound remained calm and collected with the fiery Fenton, defending his innocence while insisting on getting them somewhere safe—somewhere more defensible.

She'd accused him of wanting to lead them into a trap... all the while the gaggle of students surrounding her winced and cringed at every sound, every clang and boom that echoed down the hallway. Whatever was going may have begun some distance away, but it was undeniable that the commotion was moving closer at an alarmingly quick pace.

With a loud, angry huff, Sam had stepped between ghost and ghost-hunter, placed her hands on her hips and demanded they stop acting like children. She'd pointed out that wherever Danny and Jack were, they were undoubtedly heading somewhere safe... and probably together, since Honorbound had said they went off in the same direction. There were more important matters to attend to at the moment than arguing among themselves...

It was at that moment that Lila had appeared, crimson red eyes widened, and hands wringing nervously. She stuttered nervously, "Ho... Honorbound. It's Lord Aragon and Fright Knight! They've... They've brought an army... They're looking for..." A brief, telling glance was sent toward Sam and Tucker.

The techno-geek groaned, rubbing the bridge of his nose as murmured quietly, "Johnny did say they looking for Danny..."

Sam's lips formed a thin line, and her eyes narrowed on the ghostly handmaiden, "Where's Dora?"

"She's taken to the skies to defend the castle from Lord Aragon..."

"As much as I wish to join the battle..." Honorbound interrupted grimly, "We must get the humans to safety, do you understand Lila?"

"The... the throne room! It's the safest room in the castle. Just beyond the great hall!"

Honorbound agreed, heaving his sword to his shoulder, he turned a wary gaze toward Maddie, "Please, my lady. Place your trust in us. In me."

She was still suspicious, but somewhere deep down was a small thread of belief. She resisted the urge to snuff it out, just as Tucker placed a palm on her shoulder, "Let's go, Mrs. F."

Finally she nodded, and the knight gave a wide, toothy grin, "Follow close. I swear on my afterlife that I will allow no harm to come to any of you. Lila, please take up the rear."

"Right!"

The group fell in line behind Honorbound, with Valerie, Star and Paulina in font. Dash and Mr. Lancer were helping Kwan hobble along as fast as they could muster, while Mikey and Nathan followed close behind them. Sam, Maddie and Tucker were just ahead of Lila.

Bright flashes of light streaked by the windows outside as they ran, and for a brief moment the swirling green shroud of the Zone was blacked out by two gigantic shadows as the dragons outside fought for dominance.

Torches flicked as they ran passed, and somehow they all made it down the stairs without tripping over one another's feet. Another hallway whizzed by, and slowly but surely the castle came to life with numerous scrambling ghosts rushing to and from. Some looked angry, preparing themselves for battle. Others looked scared, floating away in every direction to hide.

They had one last hallway to cross before they would reach the great hall, and Honorbound picked up his pace, stealing a quick glance backward to make sure his charges weren't too far behind. He was relieved to see that they were keeping up fairly well, and he turned back to the task at hand.

That relief was short lived, unfortunately.

Just as they crossed the threshold into the great hall, the giant, ancient wooden doors at the entrance burst inward and were flung from their hinges. Princess Dorathea—still in dragon from—was thrown unceremoniously into the room, her massive bulk crushing the large, heavy table they'd sat at earlier, tearing down half the front wall in the process. A pained growl bounced off the remaining walls as she clumsily tried to right herself.

Ectoplasm flowed across her scales from several gashes in her hide, and one of her wings had a long, jagged tear down the middle. Her mouth gaped slightly, with more of the viscous green liquid dripping out from between her teeth. Her nostrils flared with smoke, and her crimson eyes blinked rapidly as she shook her frame free from the debris surrounding her.

"Dora!" Sam screeched, darting out past her classmates to the front of the group. One hand swung her backpack around, and the other hastily pulled a wrist ray from deep within.

"Sam! Wait! Stop!" Tucker reached in vain with one hand to try and slow the hastily scrambling goth. She ducked out of his grasp and continued shoving her way through the rest of the motley crew of humans.

She wasn't quick enough to dodge Valerie's grip however, and the darker skinned girl leveled an icy glare and snarled, "What the hell do you think you're going to do?"

Without missing a beat, and with an equally seething, knowing gaze Sam retorted, "My job. What about _you_?"

***  
"Stop... stop it! I don't have all of my strength back yet... I can't keep flying with you..!"

"Let me go! I said put me down, ghost!" Jack squirmed, swinging his free arm out in defiance. His significant weight shifted heavily in one direction.

This seemed to throw his captor off balance, and the two of them tumbled through an open window and into a different abandoned hallway of the castle. The specter released his hold just as they crashed to the floor.

Jack groaned, head jumbled and breath knocked from his lungs.

"Fantastic. Nice job there. Truly graceful."

The ghost-hunter shook his head and shoved himself to shaky feet. He decidedly did _not_ enjoy flying. He raised his weapon in defense as he studied the ghost that had apparently come to his aid... still, he didn't want to take any chances.

"Yes. That's the rational thing to do, isn't it? Shoot the one who just saved you."

This ghost was tall, and lanky, sporting a dark purple trench coat and tattered, gray scarf. Bright, toxic green eyes peeked through thinly rimmed glasses, and a messy mop of black hair framed his face and fell to just above his shoulders. His chin sported a wispy patch of black hair, and what struck Jack the most was the fact that he lacked the more common green or blue skin tones often found in ecto-entities. His skin was a light ashy gray.

Jack cleared his throat, "Who are you?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes." Jack needed a name. He needed to know if this ghost was 'friend' or 'foe'. Which one of Tucker's lists did he fall on?

The ghost sighed, and rolled his eyes in annoyance, "Ghost Writer, if you _must_ know."

His tone was snippy, but not _completely_ antagonistic. Jack's brain mentally flipped through the files he'd gone through earlier.

 _Ghost Writer._ The name was not familiar. It wasn't on the "bad guy" list… then again, neither was Vlad, so maybe the kids just didn't know him...

"Listen, I did my good deed for the day. If you want to stand here and gape, be my guest. I, however, suggest we run... maybe try and find that illiterate boy you call a son."

"My son...?" Jack slowly lowered his ecto-gun. This ghost hadn't made any sudden moves yet, "So you _do_ know him?"

"Of _course_ I do. I also saw him bolt off and leave you high and dry. Why the hell he would do that in the middle of an attack is…well, it's rather out of character for him actually. But that's neither the here or now I suppose..." Ghost Writer snickered, turning to float off down the hallway. He never bothered to see if Jack was following, but continued speaking anyway, " _Everyone_ knows your son. Though if I were being completely honest, him and I—well, we had a rather _poetic_ start to our... acquaintanceship." Jack could practically _hear_ the smirk that spread across the ghosts face, as if there was some sort of inside joke he wasn't privy to. He obviously thought himself to be fairly clever.

The odd pair hastily made their way toward a set of stairs with little else said. The eldest Fenton was still trying to mull over the fact that there was yet _another_ puzzle piece, another ghostly friend—no, Ghost Writer had _not_ used that word—a _cquaintance_ was the term of choice _._ The way this ghost spoke led Jack to believe that there might have been some type of altercation in the past... one that was a sore subject between the two. Still, the ghost hadn't attacked, and he _had_ pulled him from that balcony, as unexpected and terrifying as the short flight was.

They had reached the staircase, and while Ghost Writer simply flew, Jack had to take the steps two at a time to keep up. _"_ Why did you help me?"

"Ha! That's a ridiculous question. Phantom would utterly _destroy_ me if he ever found out I let anything happen to you that I could have prevented."

The way Ghost Writer had answered had been so nonchalant that Jack's brain almost didn't catch it. As such, he found himself stopping dead in his tracks mid stride between two stairs, "Why would it matter to _Phantom?"_

The ghost seemed to stumble mid-air, his shoulders stiffening as he slowly turned to face the human behind him. Jack could almost imagine nervous sweat forming on his brow as he sputtered, "Uh... Eh... You mean he still hasn't..? I mean..."

Jack narrowed his eyes and glared down on the now not-so-confident ghost below him. "Why. Would. _Phantom_. Care?"

Ghost Writer's aura almost seemed to dim, causing his already pale skin to darken as if flustered, "Er... well, Phantom and your son are... they're quite close, you see..." He wrung his hands, "...and Phantom really is quite protective of his friends and your little town."

Jack sighed, and rubbed the bridge of his nose between two fingers. His brain was doing loopy-loops in his skull, and he knew... he just _knew..._ that the answer to all his questions was staring him right in the face, taunting him. He just. Couldn't. See it.

Just as the ghost hunter was about to press further, the castle around them shook violently with a nearby explosion. Dust drifted down from the ceiling above, and Ghost Writer took the opportunity to change the subject, "We need to keep moving. I'm not too terribly familiar with Lady Dorathea's castle, and would very much like to make sure I'm somewhere safe. Preferably far, far away from Fright Knights and his minions. I've had all too much of them lately."

 _Fright Knight_.

Now that _was_ a name Jack recognized from Tucker's files. Ghost Writer had started moving again, and Jack reluctantly followed, "Is that who's attacking? Why?"

"How should I know?" The ghost's smarmy attitude seemed to have returned full swing, "I just know the bastard attacked me in my own home. He ransacked my library—for what I couldn't imagine, considering he's far from well read—and has been systematically raiding various lairs throughout the Ghost Zone for quite some time."

They turned a corner, only to find that the hallway ended in a pile of rubble. Part of the castle wall had collapsed inward, leaving a gaping hole that opened wide into the front grounds. Across the lengthy gardens Jack could just make out the entrance to the Great hall, or what was left of it anyway.

Absolute chaos lay between the two points. Hundreds of skeletons groaned, shambled and struck out against Dora's knights and citizens. Ectoblasts shot this way and that, like bullets flying through the air in a warzone. Cries and shouts echoed between his ears, and he spied numerous ghosts—some friendly, some not—collapsed in heaps, reduced to oozing piles of ectoplasm, their bodies too far gone to reform.

It was gruesome. Far more gruesome than anything Jack had ever seen before. Certainly worse than anything he had expected, even taking into consideration that they were in the Ghost Zone.

And in the middle of it all cantered a dark nightmare. A black, winged horse with an armored rider, coated in purple flames. A deadly sword waving through the air.

Fright Knight.

And he was making his way toward the great hall.  
***

He was frustratingly aware as sweat ran down his brow, forming a small droplet on the tip of his nose before breaking free and falling to the floor below. His chest heaved, each labored breath sending a dull ache down his sides. He was hunched against a wall, leaning forward with his hands gripping his knees tight. One solitary thought wracked his brain despite the seemingly ever present haze that refused to disperse.

"I… I ran." He breathed, shaking his head in disbelief, "I... just left him there…"

A sharp stinging pain lashed out in his core, and suddenly he was overwhelmed with confusion. His back straightened, and he swung back one balled fist into the wall behind him, "God dammit! What the hell is wrong with me?!"

His voice echoed loudly, but there was no one else in the abandoned bedroom. No one was there to give him an answer. No one was there to pat him on the back and tell him it was all ok.

Not that they should. Nothing he had just done was even remotely _ok_.

He couldn't believe his own actions… yes, he was scared about his parents finding out his secret—he'd been more prone to anxiety and nightmares about the entire situation for a while now—but he'd never, _ever_ just run away before. Not like that. And then he'd gone and phased through several walls to lengthen the distance... and that had left him feeling even weaker and even more broken then before. It was shameful.

His mind reeled. His stomach lurched.

He'd sooner face them knowing everything, even treating him like a freak, before leaving them in danger... At least, that's what he had thought, anyway.

And all of a sudden, there was that terror again, bubbling to the surface, urging him to crawl under a rock and hide. It was foreign and unwelcome. He wasn't used to bowing down to his fear like this…and with each deep breath he tried to take to calm himself, his chest protested angrily and the feeling only burrowed itself deeper.

Deep down he just _knew_ that whatever Freakshow had done in the park was causing this… this _confusion_. This uncontrollable dance between anxiety and rage. It was like all of his emotions—primarily the negative ones—were on overdrive and he couldn't rein them in.

It was like knowing something wasn't your fault, but being completely unable to stop yourself from feeling like it was. He hated it. He'd never felt so… unstable.

And considering everything he'd been through in his relatively short half-life, this overbearing feeling of helplessness was downright bizarre. He'd faced down the most hellish monsters with resolve... Undergrowth, Nocturne, Pariah... they were all ancient evils that he had no right standing toe to toe with... yet he had. He'd gone head to head with Vlad—Plasmius—so many times he'd lost count.  
He'd faced an apocalyptic future ruled by an inhuman, twisted version of himself.

He didn't always _win._ But he'd never just backed down.

Yet here he was, panting like a dog in a dark, abandoned room while an undead army threatened his friends and family.

Another loud boom startled him enough to put his thoughts into perspective, and he drew in a shaky breath. Pushing away from the wall, he shuffled across the room to a large, antique looking vanity. Both palms rested on the wooden table as he leaned forward to stare at himself in the mirror.

He was currently human, though even in the darkened room he could tell his skin had taken an unhealthy pallor. His thick black hair was a ruffled mess, despite his bangs being damp with a cold sweat. His eyes were glassy, slightly red with exhaustion and wide with uncertainty.

His voice cracked as he scolded himself, "Get a hold of yourself, Danny!"

All because his dad had been eavesdropping?

He'd abandoned his dad. He'd _ran._ He'd practically left him to die.

It was wrong.

He narrowed his glare, and curled his fingers around the corners of the vanity. His core ached uncomfortably, and he could feel the icy tendrils of his energy spread through his arms and across the wood beneath his fingers. He could feel the cold seep through his skin, building in his chest and pulsing with power.

Instead of resisting, he latched on. He pulled it to the surface and held it, intent on taking control. These were _his_ powers dammit, and he had gone through years of learning, years of fighting, years of getting his butt kicked, and returning the favor to hone them to their current level.

There was a guttural roar from outside—either Dora or Aragon, he couldn't really tell—and he found himself struck by a twinge of panic as the noise reminded him that there was a very real battle going on, and if Johnny was right... it was because _he_ was the target. His friends and family were in danger because someone wanted _him._ He swallowed, darting his tongue out to wet his chapped lips.

A hot, simmering anger slowly bled to the surface, lightening the weight that all that fear had put on his shoulders.

Toxic, glowing green bled through his light-blue irises, and he tugged at that familiar, cold, comforting spark deep inside. A ring of light formed around his midsection. His injuries protested painfully, but he grit his teeth and ignored it.

The rings split and surged up his body. Snow white hair replaced raven black.

He was Danny Phantom, dammit. He was practically a super-hero. He had a _job_ to do.

Danny Phantom didn't _run._

* * *

 **Authors note:** I'll try to have the next chapter up as soon as possible... because it's going to be action packed and have one of my favorite scenes in it. Anywhoots, as always... Leave a review if you feel so inclined. I'm always open to constructive criticism. _  
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